Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC Takes $215,000 Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in 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 last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $432.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $378.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $343.82. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $255.73 and a twelve month high of $440.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $12.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.38 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.