BDF Gestion Takes Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 62,120 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,886,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,211,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,201,777 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $726,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth $602,280,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in General Motors by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,731,249 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $493,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on General Motors from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on General Motors from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on General Motors from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.17.

General Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GM traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.48. The stock had a trading volume of 14,118,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,006,579. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.39. General Motors has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $50.50. The firm has a market cap of $49.60 billion, a PE ratio of 5.31, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Motors news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 898,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,431,657.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total transaction of $15,770,320.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 898,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,431,657.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total transaction of $6,516,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 176,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,684,840.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,152,621 shares of company stock valued at $51,818,111 in the last ninety days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Motors Company 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.