Blueshift Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,970 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 31,980 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in General Motors were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Motors by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,620,533 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,055,395,000 after buying an additional 106,878 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in General Motors by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 17,278,448 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $774,766,000 after acquiring an additional 989,750 shares during the last quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC grew its holdings in General Motors by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 7,397,404 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $394,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,528 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in General Motors by 6.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 5,798,131 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $259,988,000 after buying an additional 358,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,914,256 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $250,627,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GM opened at $49.84 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. General Motors has a 52-week low of $38.96 and a 52-week high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.80%.

General Motors announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GM has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.