Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 1,170,816 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,273,136 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,170,816 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.94% of General Motors worth $1,559,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in General Motors by 551.9% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 502 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its position in General Motors by 9,960.0% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 503 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. HSBC downgraded shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Hsbc Global Res cut General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, General Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

General Motors Price Performance

General Motors stock opened at $46.65 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.61. General Motors has a 12 month low of $38.96 and a 12 month high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. General Motors’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.