General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,292 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 7,586 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in General Motors were worth $2,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in shares of General Motors by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 7,241 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 5,759 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in General Motors by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its position in General Motors by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 1,413 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in General Motors by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 53,619 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $2,856,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on GM shares. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of General Motors in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of General Motors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded General Motors to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on General Motors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.56.

General Motors Stock Performance

General Motors stock traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.79. The company had a trading volume of 4,205,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,249,338. The company has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.36. General Motors has a 12-month low of $38.96 and a 12-month high of $61.24. The company's fifty day moving average is $46.86 and its 200-day moving average is $49.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.15. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The company had revenue of $44.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from General Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. General Motors's payout ratio is 8.65%.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership 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.