Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,720 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 108 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth about $3,286,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 115,143 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 327.0% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 15,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,596,000 after purchasing an additional 11,839 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GPI. Stephens started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $437.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive 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 owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.9 %

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $414.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $396.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $357.37. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $440.32. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $12.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.