Alberta Investment Management Corp Reduces Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Alberta Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 46.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GPI. FMR LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,312,000 after buying an additional 107,663 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,750,000 after buying an additional 90,401 shares during the last quarter. Advent International L.P. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,961,000 after buying an additional 80,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,608,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total transaction of $1,325,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of GPI stock opened at $409.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $436.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $430.70. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $326.91 and a 1-year high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (down previously from $435.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $470.14.

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.