Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 1,043.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 299,814 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after buying an additional 273,601 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in General Motors were worth $15,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in General Motors during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on General Motors from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on General Motors from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.28.

General Motors Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of GM stock opened at $47.35 on Friday. General Motors has a 1-year low of $37.83 and a 1-year high of $61.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $51.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $47.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.40.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that General Motors will post 11.28 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. General Motors’s payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $535,229.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $510,865.13. The trade was a 51.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.