EMC Capital Management Sells 5,786 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

EMC Capital Management reduced its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 78.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,552 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,786 shares during the quarter. Group 1 Automotive comprises about 0.4% of EMC Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. EMC Capital Management's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $447.83.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.9 %

GPI stock traded down $8.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $447.94. 128,206 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,394. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $258.77 and a 52-week high of $471.28. The stock's fifty day moving average is $431.34 and its 200-day moving average is $387.91. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS 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 18.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.12%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive 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. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive 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.