Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,881 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,499,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 130.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 99,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,162,000 after purchasing an additional 56,564 shares in the last quarter. Advent International L.P. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the first quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,833,000 after purchasing an additional 31,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $8,769,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPI. Zacks Research cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $478.00.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,939,731.78. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $433.88 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $344.38 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $452.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $434.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.85.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend 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 is currently 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.