General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,256,535 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 11,561 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $66,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in General Motors by 972.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,103,036 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $94,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,964 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of General Motors by 123.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,226,027 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $144,655,000 after buying an additional 1,779,897 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 158.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,171,587 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $97,374,000 after buying an additional 1,332,450 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in General Motors by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 4,399,549 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $234,364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in General Motors by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 4,089,633 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $217,855,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140,569 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $535,229.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $510,865.13. This trade represents a 51.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. acquired 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GM shares. HSBC cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on General Motors from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

General Motors Stock Performance

NYSE GM opened at $47.77 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.13. The company has a market capitalization of $47.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.40. General Motors has a 1 year low of $38.13 and a 1 year high of $61.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. As a group, analysts expect that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

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.