General American Investors Company, Inc. (NYSE:GAM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

General American Investors Company, Inc. (NYSE:GAM - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 35,000 shares, an increase of 224.1% from the November 30th total of 10,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 34,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Priest bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $150,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,392 shares in the company, valued at $384,800. The trade was a 63.88 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 6,573 shares of company stock valued at $175,140 over the last quarter. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of General American Investors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GAM. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of General American Investors by 7.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 21,547 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General American Investors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,769,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in General American Investors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,490,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in General American Investors by 31.9% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 330,584 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $17,731,000 after buying an additional 79,975 shares during the period. Finally, Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in General American Investors by 100.0% in the third quarter. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,124 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 5,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.85% of the company's stock.

General American Investors Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GAM traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.42. The stock had a trading volume of 26,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,365. General American Investors has a 1 year low of $41.88 and a 1 year high of $55.44. The firm's 50 day moving average is $52.32 and its 200-day moving average is $51.80.

General American Investors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th.

General American Investors Company Profile

General American Investors Company, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm invests in the public equity markets of United States. It invests in growth stocks of companies. It makes investments in Information Technology, Financials, Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary, Retailing, Communication Services, Industrials, Health Care, Energy and Materials.

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