Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,817,706 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 2,062,878 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.89% of General Motors worth $469,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of General Motors by 551.9% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 502 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. grew its position in General Motors by 9,960.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 503 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on General Motors in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Cowen started coverage on General Motors in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.00.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In related news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. acquired 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Motors Trading Down 1.4 %

GM opened at $43.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.08, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27. General Motors has a one year low of $38.96 and a one year high of $61.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.55. 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 announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. Analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

General Motors announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.