KBC Group NV Grows Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 196,992 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,117 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in General Motors were worth $8,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in General Motors by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 11,382 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position in shares of General Motors by 12.1% in the third quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,629,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $73,070,000 after buying an additional 175,860 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 121.5% during the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 47,169 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,115,000 after buying an additional 25,869 shares during the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of General Motors by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 178,443 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $8,001,000 after buying an additional 95,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in General Motors by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 162,000 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $7,264,000 after acquiring an additional 21,000 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Motors Price Performance

GM stock opened at $57.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.72 billion, a PE ratio of 6.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.40. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.28. General Motors has a 12-month low of $27.42 and a 12-month high of $59.39.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.47. General Motors had a return on equity of 16.30% and a net margin of 6.06%. The business had revenue of $48.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that General Motors will post 10.35 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on General Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Motors from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.92.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 122,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total transaction of $6,745,130.28. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 126,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,000,190.12. This trade represents a 49.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,942.36. This trade represents a 18.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 653,511 shares of company stock worth $35,012,844. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.