Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Acquires Shares of 867 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter worth about $74,499,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,287.8% in the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 102,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,544,000 after purchasing an additional 94,650 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% in the first quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,833,000 after purchasing an additional 31,244 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 265.6% in the first quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 24,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,438,000 after purchasing an additional 17,951 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Barclays began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $510.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $478.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.1%

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $391.56 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $355.91 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $430.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $436.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.64 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.67 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 1.67%.Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued 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 is Monday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 7.00%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.