Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 52,125 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its position in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 14.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 308,516 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 52,125 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in General Motors were worth $14,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GM. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in General Motors during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in General Motors during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in General Motors by 56.1% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. bought a new position in General Motors in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of General Motors during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other General Motors news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total transaction of $627,210.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GM shares. Nomura Securities raised shares of General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of General Motors from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $53.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Motors currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.17.

General Motors Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE GM opened at $48.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $54.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.87, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.25 and a 200-day moving average of $45.36. General Motors has a 1-year low of $26.30 and a 1-year high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. The firm had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 11th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

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.