Inspire Investing LLC Has $1.85 Million Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 7.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 18.9% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 69.7% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 1,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on GPI shares. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $367.80.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $391.80 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $347.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $310.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $228.84 and a fifty-two week high of $393.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.36 by $0.44. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 3.03%. The company had revenue of $4.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.73 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.26 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, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.