BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company's stock worth $156,253,000 after purchasing an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 65,414 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,174,000 after acquiring an additional 53,811 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company's stock worth $21,573,000 after purchasing an additional 39,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,117,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.3 %

GPI stock traded up $5.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $446.11. 165,061 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,667. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $448.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $407.76. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $258.77 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is 5.44%.

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.