Michael David Jones Sells 1,400 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total value of $412,482.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,398,557.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of GPI opened at $295.16 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $276.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.04. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $214.25 and a 52-week high of $310.08. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.38.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.44 by ($0.94). The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.86 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.47 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,082,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 11.0% during the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 70,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,832,000 after purchasing an additional 6,946 shares during the period. Covalis Capital LLP acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $16,330,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $12,703,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,103,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.