Lincoln Pereira Sells 6,000 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $414.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $255.73 and a 12-month high of $440.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $397.46 and a 200-day moving average of $357.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.35.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $12.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.