Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,495,236 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 18,023 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $53,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in General Motors by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,460,756 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,674,861,000 after buying an additional 1,580,681 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of General Motors by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,212,672 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $501,562,000 after acquiring an additional 201,080 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,196,412 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $435,086,000 after acquiring an additional 237,359 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of General Motors by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,110,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $435,041,000 after acquiring an additional 59,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in General Motors by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,327,552 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $370,966,000 after purchasing an additional 558,765 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of General Motors stock opened at $45.48 on Thursday. General Motors has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $46.17. The company has a market cap of $51.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.56, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.75.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.60. General Motors had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $43.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that General Motors will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

Insider Activity at General Motors

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 5,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.04, for a total value of $219,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,800.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gerald Johnson sold 27,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.26, for a total value of $1,227,541.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,236,361.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 5,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.04, for a total transaction of $219,504.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,800.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,248 shares of company stock worth $3,614,078 over the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GM. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of General Motors from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of General Motors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on General Motors from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.65.

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.