New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 969 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,815 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.26% of Group 1 Automotive worth $14,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $365,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 67,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,482,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 32,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,986 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 43,588 shares of the company's stock worth $18,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 498 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 price target on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI traded down $5.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $454.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 134,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,206. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $445.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $404.36. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $258.77 and a 52-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.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.44%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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.