Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 454 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,793 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in General Motors in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in General Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in General Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GM shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on General Motors from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of General Motors from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.28.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. acquired 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig B. Glidden sold 383,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $21,697,331.46. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

General Motors Stock Up 0.4 %

GM stock opened at $47.90 on Friday. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $38.05 and a fifty-two week high of $61.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.79, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.96.

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

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. General Motors’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

General Motors Company 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.