Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,499 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,182 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.45% of Group 1 Automotive worth $18,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares during the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% in the 1st quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,643,000 after purchasing an additional 76,102 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares during the period. Shellback Capital LP increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 84,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,893,000 after buying an additional 33,901 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $421,188.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.80.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE GPI opened at $368.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $228.84 and a 12 month high of $393.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $361.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.31.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by $0.44. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 3.03%. The business had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.44%.

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.