Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,344 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,384 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.28% of Group 1 Automotive worth $15,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the company's stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,536 shares of the company's stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $450.33.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GPI traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $392.50. 179,431 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 145,296. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $422.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $414.78. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.05. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.31 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.44%.

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.