Clarius Group LLC Lowers Stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Clarius Group LLC trimmed its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,663 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,235 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in General Motors were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 157,520 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,890,000 after purchasing an additional 15,117 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its stake in General Motors by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 278,485 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $12,181,000 after buying an additional 68,683 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in General Motors by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,767 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 5.3% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 103,800 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,540,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, EVP Julian G. Blissett sold 13,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.24, for a total transaction of $528,706.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,567 shares in the company, valued at $3,348,562.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 15,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.02, for a total value of $620,710.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,507 shares in the company, valued at $860,710.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julian G. Blissett sold 13,826 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.24, for a total transaction of $528,706.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,348,562.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 86,248 shares of company stock worth $3,614,078. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GM shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of General Motors from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Wedbush lifted their price target on General Motors from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on General Motors from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of General Motors from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of General Motors from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, General Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.57.

General Motors Stock Performance

NYSE GM opened at $43.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $46.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.23 and a 200-day moving average of $35.50. The stock has a market cap of $49.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.51.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.08. General Motors had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The company had revenue of $42.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from General Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. General Motors’s payout ratio is presently 6.57%.

General Motors Profile

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.