Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 3,089 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 4.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 75,545 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 3,089 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $3,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in General Motors by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,211,609,000 after acquiring an additional 6,201,777 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in General Motors by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $726,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in General Motors by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after purchasing an additional 3,247,050 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $602,280,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,731,249 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $493,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472,297 shares during the period. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In other General Motors news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total value of $27,219,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,198,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,093,242.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 626,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.46, for a total transaction of $27,219,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,198,648 shares in the company, valued at $52,093,242.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total value of $6,516,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 176,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,684,840.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,152,621 shares of company stock valued at $51,818,111 in the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GM. Morgan Stanley downgraded General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $46.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of General Motors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, General Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.38.

General Motors Price Performance

NYSE GM opened at $44.05 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $49.51 billion, a PE ratio of 5.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.18. General Motors has a 52-week low of $26.30 and a 52-week high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 6.22%. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.87%.

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.