Comerica Bank Trims Stock Holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Comerica Bank trimmed its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 6.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 277,868 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 18,311 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in General Motors were worth $12,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 135.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in General Motors by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,334 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Motors in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in General Motors in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in General Motors by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 12,039 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,597 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of General Motors in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.38.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In related news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total value of $27,219,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,198,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,093,242.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 14,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.01, for a total value of $683,616.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 162,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,455,874.49. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total transaction of $27,219,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,198,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,093,242.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,152,621 shares of company stock worth $51,818,111 in the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

General Motors Stock Performance

GM stock traded down $1.14 on Thursday, hitting $43.18. The company had a trading volume of 7,073,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,897,292. General Motors has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $50.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.19. The stock has a market cap of $48.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.