AM Squared Ltd Reduces Stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

AM Squared Ltd cut its position in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 39.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,823 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. General Motors makes up 0.6% of AM Squared Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. AM Squared Ltd’s holdings in General Motors were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $602,280,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in General Motors by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,211,609,000 after acquiring an additional 6,201,777 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in General Motors during the 1st quarter worth approximately $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in General Motors by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in General Motors by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $726,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905,689 shares during the period. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In related news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total value of $15,770,320.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 898,648 shares in the company, valued at $43,431,657.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total value of $15,770,320.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 898,648 shares in the company, valued at $43,431,657.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 35,142 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total value of $1,628,480.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 126,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,880,870.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 391,402 shares of company stock worth $18,818,536 over the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on GM shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley cut General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.17.

General Motors Price Performance

General Motors stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.78. 15,736,896 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,115,744. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.45. The company has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.09, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.43. General Motors has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. General Motors’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

About General Motors

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts; and provide software-enabled services and subscriptions worldwide. The company operates through GM North America, GM International, Cruise, and GM Financial segments. It markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling brand names.