Savant Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 622 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,518,000 after buying an additional 10,969 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 232,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $117,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,701,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 152,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,576,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.33.

Insider Activity

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

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GPI opened at $478.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $258.77 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $440.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $398.79.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.25%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.12%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.