Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 5,915 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 122,256 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,915 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.92% of Group 1 Automotive worth $51,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPI. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE GPI traded down $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $441.28. 247,067 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,879. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $449.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $408.88. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.00 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

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Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. On average, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.