Cibc World Markets Corp Buys New Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GPI. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,870,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company's stock worth $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $1,367,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPI. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $460.33.

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Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE GPI traded down $11.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $410.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 117,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,815. 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 cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $445.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.93. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.31 and a 12 month high of $490.09.

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

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 5.44%.

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.