Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Cuts Holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lessened its position in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 766,037 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after selling 108,080 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. owned about 0.08% of General Motors worth $41,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in General Motors by 770.3% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 99,054 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $4,442,000 after purchasing an additional 87,672 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of General Motors by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 100,708 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $4,490,000 after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $237,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in General Motors in the third quarter valued at about $1,907,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 44.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 65,389 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $2,932,000 after purchasing an additional 20,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on General Motors from $73.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of General Motors from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup started coverage on General Motors in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $64.00) on shares of General Motors in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.83.

General Motors Price Performance

GM stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.11. The stock had a trading volume of 8,103,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,341,338. The company has a market cap of $46.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. General Motors has a 52-week low of $38.96 and a 52-week high of $61.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $46.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.32.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. General Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

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.