Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 4,965 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,369 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 4,965 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in General Motors were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GM. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in General Motors during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 832 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in General Motors during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in General Motors during the first quarter worth $32,000. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GM. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Thursday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on General Motors from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Nomura Securities raised General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $108,907.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at $489,942.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,942.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total value of $15,770,320.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 898,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,431,657.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 376,544 shares of company stock worth $18,134,919 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

General Motors stock opened at $47.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.79. The firm has a market cap of $53.78 billion, a PE ratio of 5.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. General Motors has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. General Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.