Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Takes Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,493 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of General Motors by 972.6% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,103,036 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $94,300,000 after buying an additional 1,906,964 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 123.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,226,027 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $144,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779,897 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 581.4% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,601,856 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $71,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366,768 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 158.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,171,587 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $97,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332,450 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in General Motors by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 17,278,448 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $774,766,000 after acquiring an additional 989,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM opened at $50.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $55.97 billion, a PE ratio of 5.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.42. General Motors has a 1-year low of $34.32 and a 1-year high of $61.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.62.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.47. General Motors had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The business had revenue of $48.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 10.34 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.12%.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In related news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 506,824 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.33, for a total transaction of $27,028,923.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 694,548 shares in the company, valued at $37,040,244.84. The trade was a 42.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 9,307 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.01, for a total transaction of $502,671.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,787.13. The trade was a 52.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,030,475 shares of company stock valued at $56,509,286 over the last ninety days. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on GM. DZ Bank downgraded General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of General Motors from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.68.

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.