Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 81.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,549 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.09% of Group 1 Automotive worth $4,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $190,004,000 after purchasing an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,518,000 after acquiring an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $447.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $423.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $377.94. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $449.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.01%.

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.