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

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,273,136 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,170,816 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $1,559,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in General Motors by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,620,533 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,055,395,000 after purchasing an additional 106,878 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 6.1% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 17,278,448 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $774,766,000 after acquiring an additional 989,750 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 4th quarter worth about $592,321,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC lifted its position in General Motors by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 7,397,404 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $394,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in General Motors by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 5,798,131 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $259,988,000 after purchasing an additional 358,507 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $73.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a report on Saturday, March 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, General Motors has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. acquired 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Motors Price Performance

NYSE GM opened at $46.65 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $46.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. General Motors has a 52 week low of $38.96 and a 52 week high of $61.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.61.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Research analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.12 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

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

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.