General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd decreased its position in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,883 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 13,917 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in General Motors were worth $6,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 14.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in shares of General Motors by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $726,942,000 after buying an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of General Motors by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after buying an additional 3,247,050 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $602,280,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in General Motors by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,731,249 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $493,226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Stock Performance

GM stock opened at $49.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.34. The company has a market capitalization of $56.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.08, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $50.50.

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

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

General Motors announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Nomura Securities upgraded General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $627,210.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $417,307.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,551,173.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total transaction of $627,210.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 391,402 shares of company stock valued at $18,818,536 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.