Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 2,195 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 35.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,432 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,195 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Group 1 Automotive worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 13,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,178,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $499,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $476.57.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $465.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $344.38 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $447.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $429.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

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.