Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 147,889 Shares of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in General Motors Company (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,108,646 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after selling 147,889 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of General Motors worth $52,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GM. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in General Motors by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,273,136 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170,816 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in General Motors by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,796,969 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $1,264,567,000 after purchasing an additional 176,436 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,066,883 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $749,382,000 after buying an additional 228,408 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $592,321,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in General Motors by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,930,178 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $582,251,000 after buying an additional 822,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company's stock.

General Motors Trading Up 0.5%

GM traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.44. 2,025,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,705,539. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.32. General Motors Company has a one year low of $38.96 and a one year high of $61.24. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $48.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.21.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.15. General Motors had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 14.30%. The company had revenue of $44.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that General Motors Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from General Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. General Motors's payout ratio is currently 8.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GM has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of General Motors from $73.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $36.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price target on General Motors from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. CLSA upgraded General Motors to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.35.

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.