National Bank of Canada FI Increases Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 54.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,352,523 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,180,936 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in General Motors were worth $178,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GM. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in General Motors by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,273,136 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,559,380,000 after buying an additional 1,170,816 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in General Motors by 84.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 175,867 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $9,368,000 after purchasing an additional 80,663 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in General Motors by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,495,539 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $79,667,000 after purchasing an additional 22,233 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,609,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 633.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,810 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $5,051,000 after buying an additional 81,890 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were bought 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 approximately $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Motors Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of General Motors stock opened at $47.06 on Tuesday. General Motors has a 52-week low of $38.96 and a 52-week high of $61.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.81 and a 200 day moving average of $50.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $46.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GM. TD Cowen began coverage on General Motors in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three 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, General Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

General Motors Company 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.