Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Holdings Raised by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,815 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.26% of Group 1 Automotive worth $14,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 3.7 %

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $451.10 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $443.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $402.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $258.77 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. On average, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.