Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,614 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Group 1 Automotive worth $16,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.2% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total transaction of $1,325,130.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,365,072.54. This trade represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 8.5%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $406.92 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $440.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $431.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $298.92 and a 52-week high of $490.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GPI shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $470.14.

Group 1 Automotive 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.