Aviva PLC Sells 23,471 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Aviva PLC lessened its position in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 676,878 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 23,471 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned about 0.07% of General Motors worth $36,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GM. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,273,136 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,559,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170,816 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in General Motors by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,796,969 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,264,567,000 after purchasing an additional 176,436 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in General Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $592,321,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 7,397,404 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $394,060,000 after buying an additional 2,104,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,914,256 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $250,627,000 after buying an additional 2,113,973 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Motors Stock Performance

GM opened at $44.22 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.58. General Motors has a 52-week low of $38.96 and a 52-week high of $61.24. The company has a market cap of $44.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.19, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GM has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Cowen initiated coverage on General Motors in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of General Motors in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.11.

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.