Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $1.78 Million Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.9% in the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.4% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 159.6% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 7.2 %

GPI stock opened at $299.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $214.25 and a twelve month high of $310.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.86 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.41%.

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.