Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 900 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth about $84,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 7.2 %

Shares of GPI opened at $299.72 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.25 and a 52 week high of $310.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.11.

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). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.41%.

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.