Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Director Sells $2,560,080.00 in Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GPI opened at $419.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $398.75 and a 200-day moving average of $358.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.35. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $440.32.

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

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.67.

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.