Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Acquires 26,172 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,453,713 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 26,172 shares during the period. General Motors accounts for about 1.7% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned about 0.13% of General Motors worth $67,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $602,280,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in General Motors by 14.6% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in General Motors during the first quarter valued at $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after buying an additional 3,247,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 buying an additional 2,905,689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total value of $108,907.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,942.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,551,173.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GM opened at $46.30 on Monday. General Motors has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $50.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.03. The firm has a market cap of $52.83 billion, a PE ratio of 5.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43.

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

General Motors announced 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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to buy up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on GM shares. Nomura downgraded shares of General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.27.

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.