KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 531,224 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,298,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Motors by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,164 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $474,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in General Motors by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 463,848 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $25,178,000 after purchasing an additional 39,474 shares during the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,044,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in General Motors by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,054 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $10,763,000 after buying an additional 19,924 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Stock Up 0.7 %

GM stock opened at $49.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. General Motors has a 52 week low of $38.96 and a 52 week high of $61.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. On average, research analysts expect that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GM has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.