Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 607 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 607 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Group 1 Automotive worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPI. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 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 increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $454.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 1.36. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $258.77 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $445.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $404.36.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

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

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.