Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,561 Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,256,535 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock after selling 11,561 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of General Motors worth $66,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of General Motors by 204.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,654 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 5,144 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new position in General Motors in the 3rd quarter worth about $269,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in General Motors by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,212 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of General Motors by 29.4% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 55,969 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 12,729 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $535,229.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at $510,865.13. This trade represents a 51.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

General Motors Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of General Motors stock traded down $1.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.06. 3,650,262 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,453,073. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.11. General Motors has a twelve month low of $38.94 and a twelve month high of $61.24. The stock has a market cap of $45.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.48, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. General Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GM. Hsbc Global Res cut General Motors from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Motors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of General Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC cut shares of General Motors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $59.71.

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.