Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 53,811 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 3,663.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,280 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 53,811 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Group 1 Automotive worth $21,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth $204,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,765,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 73.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.2% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,960,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $425.80. The company had a trading volume of 47,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,290. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $440.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $382.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.69.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $12.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $425.20.

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.