Forsta AP Fonden Lowers Holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,300 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 53,700 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in General Motors were worth $9,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $602,280,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of General Motors by 14.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,211,609,000 after buying an additional 6,201,777 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at approximately $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after buying an additional 3,247,050 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in 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 during the period. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of General Motors from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $489,942.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at $489,942.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Paul A. Jacobson acquired 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.11 per share, for a total transaction of $1,102,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM stock opened at $46.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $52.84 billion, a PE ratio of 5.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.97. General Motors has a 12 month low of $26.30 and a 12 month high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. Analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. 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 initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.