Lafayette Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,007 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 85.8% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 613 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in General Motors by 173.8% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 764 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in General Motors in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

GM traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $42.55. 4,398,048 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,231,039. The stock has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a PE ratio of 5.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.51. General Motors has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $46.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $42.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.81 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 14.34%. General Motors’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that General Motors will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from General Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 5,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,800.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,315. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 5,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.04, for a total transaction of $219,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,658 shares in the company, valued at $544,800.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,248 shares of company stock valued at $3,614,078 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TheStreet raised shares of General Motors from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of General Motors from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of General Motors in a research report on Friday, March 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of General Motors from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.57.

About General Motors

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.