Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,576 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,429 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Group 1 Automotive worth $25,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $887,000. PAX Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $650,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $1,305,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at $452,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $1,037,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,344.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,344.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. Stephens started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.80.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GPI traded up $12.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $418.37. 36,282 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 134,749. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $368.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.51. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $255.73 and a 52-week high of $420.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $12.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

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.