721 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Acquired by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $224,000. Islay Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $1,052,000. Intrust Bank NA grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 944 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Guggenheim raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $299.23 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $278.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.53. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.04. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.38 and a fifty-two week high of $310.08.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total value of $412,482.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,398,557.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.