Vanguard Group Inc. Has $452.27 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,484,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,531 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.84% of Group 1 Automotive worth $452,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.92, for a total value of $54,216.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,671.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.92, for a total transaction of $54,216.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,671.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.61, for a total value of $754,519.57. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,430 shares in the company, valued at $6,944,552.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,007 shares of company stock worth $1,221,218. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE GPI opened at $290.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.37. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $228.84 and a one year high of $323.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $302.10 and its 200-day moving average is $286.29.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $9.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.52 by ($0.03). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.86 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Guggenheim raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.83.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.