Empirical Finance LLC Sells 721 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Empirical Finance LLC lessened its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,778 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 721 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in General Motors were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GM. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in General Motors by 1,043.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 299,814 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $15,971,000 after purchasing an additional 273,601 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,509 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Tobam bought a new position in General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in General Motors by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 146,395 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $7,798,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GM shares. HSBC cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on General Motors from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.28.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other news, EVP Craig B. Glidden sold 383,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $21,697,331.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 122,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,935,192.95. This represents a 75.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of GM stock opened at $47.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.12 billion, a PE ratio of 7.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.40. General Motors has a 52-week low of $37.83 and a 52-week high of $61.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.80 and its 200 day moving average is $49.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

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.