ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $12.75 Million Stock Position in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 355,064 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,741 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in General Motors were worth $12,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 85.8% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 613 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of General Motors by 173.8% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 764 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Motors Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of GM traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.38. 15,506,288 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,394,033. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. General Motors has a 1 year low of $26.30 and a 1 year high of $46.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.80, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.80.

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

General Motors Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at General Motors

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 5,100 shares of General Motors 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,658 shares in the company, valued at $544,800.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other General Motors news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 5,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.04, for a total value of $219,504.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,800.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $540,315. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,248 shares of company stock worth $3,614,078 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on General Motors in a research report on Friday, March 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on General Motors from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on General Motors from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. TheStreet raised General Motors from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised General Motors from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.57.

General Motors 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.