HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,047 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. 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 for the company. Two equities 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $450.33.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $394.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $444.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $412.78. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.31 and a 52 week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.44%.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.