Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Boosts Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,980 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 159.6% during the 3rd 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. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total transaction of $412,482.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,398,557.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total transaction of $412,482.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,535 shares in the company, valued at $3,398,557.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.61, for a total value of $754,519.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,944,552.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim upgraded 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. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $304.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.38. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $219.25 and a one year high of $323.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $288.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.95.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $9.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.52 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 3.23%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.86 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.44%.

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.