Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,000 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $602,280,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of General Motors by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $650,062,000 after purchasing an additional 3,247,050 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC increased 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 valued at $726,942,000 after buying an additional 2,905,689 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in General Motors by 32.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,326,682 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $274,531,000 after buying an additional 2,049,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in General Motors by 1,213.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 2,203,771 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $79,159,000 after buying an additional 2,035,925 shares during the period. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

General Motors Stock Performance

NYSE GM opened at $46.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.97. General Motors has a 1-year low of $26.30 and a 1-year high of $49.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.96 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.46.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $43.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.09 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 11th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GM shares. Citigroup increased their target price on General Motors from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. TheStreet raised General Motors from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Motors from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of General Motors from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Motors news, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,315. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other General Motors news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total transaction of $27,219,693.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,198,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,093,242.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $157,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $540,315. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,183,243 shares of company stock valued at $53,203,153. 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.