Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,711 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,829 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,004,000 after purchasing an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 152,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,331,000 after buying an additional 20,302 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,259,000 after buying an additional 65,414 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price 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, Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $425.20.
Get Our Latest Research Report on GPI
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.
Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.5 %
Shares of NYSE:GPI traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $430.55. The company had a trading volume of 80,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,744. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $440.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $349.80.
Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $12.07 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.
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 issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.01%.
Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
About Group 1 Automotive
(
Free Report)
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.
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