DnB Asset Management AS Increases Stock Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 47.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 278,639 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 89,936 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in General Motors were worth $14,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Motors by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,620,533 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,055,395,000 after purchasing an additional 106,878 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of General Motors by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 17,278,448 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $774,766,000 after buying an additional 989,750 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth $592,321,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its position in General Motors by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 7,397,404 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $394,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,528 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of General Motors by 6.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 5,798,131 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $259,988,000 after purchasing an additional 358,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GM. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Cowen began coverage on General Motors in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $73.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. acquired 12,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

General Motors Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of GM opened at $46.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.53. General Motors has a one year low of $38.96 and a one year high of $61.24. The company has a market capitalization of $46.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Profile

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.