Trust Co. of Vermont Raises Stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 282.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 930 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in General Motors were worth $43,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,211,609,000 after acquiring an additional 6,201,777 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $726,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $650,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $602,280,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,731,249 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $493,226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other General Motors news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total transaction of $15,770,320.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 898,648 shares in the company, valued at $43,431,657.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other General Motors news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 326,305 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total transaction of $15,770,320.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 898,648 shares in the company, valued at $43,431,657.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,152,621 shares of company stock worth $51,818,111 in the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

General Motors Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of GM stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $41.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,963,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,963,489. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43. General Motors has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $50.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

General Motors declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to buy up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on General Motors in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.27.

General Motors Company 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.