Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Decreases Stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 624,554 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 16,323 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in General Motors were worth $29,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GM. Capital World Investors raised its position in General Motors by 14.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of General Motors by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $726,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of General Motors by 21.9% during 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 buying an additional 3,247,050 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in General Motors during the fourth quarter valued at $602,280,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in General Motors by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,731,249 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $493,226,000 after buying an additional 1,472,297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

GM traded up $0.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.80. 5,491,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,696,929. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $53.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.43. General Motors has a 1 year low of $26.30 and a 1 year high of $50.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.93.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

Insider Activity

In other General Motors news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 14,858 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.01, for a total transaction of $683,616.58. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 162,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,455,874.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 owns 176,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,684,840.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 14,858 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.01, for a total value of $683,616.58. Following the sale, the president now owns 162,049 shares in the company, valued at $7,455,874.49. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut General Motors from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on General Motors from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of General Motors to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.17.

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.