Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 37 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,538 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $452.31 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $258.77 and a 12 month 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $444.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $403.14. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive 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.