AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,399,549 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,159,958 shares during the quarter. General Motors accounts for 1.1% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.40% of General Motors worth $234,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in General Motors by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,164 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Motors by 15.9% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 11,382 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in General Motors by 12.1% during the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,629,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $73,070,000 after acquiring an additional 175,860 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 121.5% during the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 47,169 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,115,000 after purchasing an additional 25,869 shares during the period. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 178,443 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $8,001,000 after purchasing an additional 95,484 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $535,229.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $510,865.13. This trade represents a 51.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 represents 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 company insiders.

General Motors Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of GM opened at $47.90 on Friday. General Motors has a 52-week low of $38.05 and a 52-week high of $61.24. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.96. The company has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.40.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. 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 presently 7.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GM. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on General Motors from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.28.

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.