Banco Santander S.A. Reduces Stock Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Banco Santander S.A. decreased its position in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 98.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,620 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 368,904 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC lifted its stake in General Motors by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 7,397,404 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $394,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,528 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $108,366,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of General Motors by 972.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,103,036 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $94,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,964 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 123.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,226,027 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $144,655,000 after buying an additional 1,779,897 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in General Motors by 158.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,171,587 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $97,374,000 after buying an additional 1,332,450 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on GM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.89.

General Motors Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GM opened at $48.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98. General Motors has a 1 year low of $38.94 and a 1 year high of $61.24. The company has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $49.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.51.

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

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

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.80%.

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.