Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $132,000 in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advent International L.P. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the first quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,833,000 after buying an additional 31,244 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth about $74,499,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 180,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,973,000 after buying an additional 3,277 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 173,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,307,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,287.8% during the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 102,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,544,000 after buying an additional 94,650 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 8 shares in the company, valued at $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $428.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $344.38 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $449.93 and its 200-day moving average is $432.54.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Zacks Research cut Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $476.57.

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.