Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stock Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,453,993 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $77,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Motors in the third quarter worth $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its position in General Motors by 9,960.0% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 503 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, General Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.89.

General Motors Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE GM opened at $49.84 on Thursday. General Motors has a 52-week low of $38.96 and a 52-week high of $61.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.