USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 60,647 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U by 33.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,942 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after selling 60,647 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in General Motors were worth $6,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

General Motors Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE GM traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $48.28. The company had a trading volume of 3,571,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,287,230. General Motors has a 1-year low of $38.96 and a 1-year high of $61.24. The firm's 50 day moving average is $46.95 and its 200-day moving average is $49.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.36.

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

General Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from General Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. General Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.65%.

General Motors declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GM. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on General Motors from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Cowen initiated coverage on General Motors in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on General Motors from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.56.

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.