Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $87.17 Million Stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,636,409 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 46,537 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in General Motors were worth $87,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in General Motors by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,164 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $474,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of General Motors by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 463,848 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $25,178,000 after buying an additional 39,474 shares during the period. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,044,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of General Motors by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,054 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $10,763,000 after buying an additional 19,924 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GM opened at $48.32 on Wednesday. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $38.94 and a fifty-two week high of $61.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $48.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.86, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

General Motors announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $73.00 price target on General Motors in a report on Saturday, March 1st. HSBC cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company 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 given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.