Avanza Fonder AB Sells 14,778 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Avanza Fonder AB cut its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,584 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 14,778 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in General Motors were worth $4,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GM. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,559,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,816 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in General Motors by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,796,969 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,264,567,000 after buying an additional 176,436 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in General Motors by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,066,883 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $749,382,000 after buying an additional 228,408 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $592,321,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of General Motors by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,930,178 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $582,251,000 after acquiring an additional 822,454 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on General Motors from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of General Motors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of General Motors from $73.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of General Motors to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.56.

General Motors Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of GM opened at $48.91 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.86 and its 200-day moving average is $49.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. General Motors has a 12 month low of $38.96 and a 12 month high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.15. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The business had revenue of $44.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from General Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.65%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.