Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Sold by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 61.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,860 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,518,000 after purchasing an additional 10,969 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,080,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,701,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $418.55 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $412.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $366.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.36. 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 52-week low of $255.73 and a 52-week high of $440.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $12.07 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $437.67.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.