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% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,793 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GM. Trust Point Inc. raised its position in General Motors by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 7,241 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of General Motors by 2.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,184 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in General Motors by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 9,592 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in General Motors by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Holistic Planning LLC grew its holdings in General Motors by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 5,759 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Motors Stock Performance

Shares of GM opened at $47.90 on Friday. General Motors has a one year low of $38.05 and a one year high of $61.24. The company has a market cap of $47.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.37 and a 200-day moving average of $49.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. General Motors’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $535,229.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $510,865.13. This represents a 51.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Craig B. Glidden sold 383,142 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total value of $21,697,331.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 122,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,935,192.95. The trade was a 75.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on General Motors from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Hsbc Global Res cut General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Motors from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.28.

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.