Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $21.61 Million in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 51,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,608,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Group 1 Automotive as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim boosted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $387.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.31 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $448.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $411.26.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. As a group, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.44%.

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.