Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 154,923 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.16% of Group 1 Automotive worth $65,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance
Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $433.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $449.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $410.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $261.20 and a 12 month high of $490.09.
Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.44%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $460.33.
Read Our Latest Research Report on GPI
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.
Featured Stories
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Group 1 Automotive, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Group 1 Automotive wasn't on the list.
While Group 1 Automotive currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Need to stretch out your 401K or Roth IRA plan? Use these time-tested investing strategies to grow the monthly retirement income that your stock portfolio generates.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
