Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,915 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.92% of Group 1 Automotive worth $51,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GPI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens restated 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.3 %

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $446.11 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.00 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $448.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $407.76.

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

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.