Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Director Sells $2,560,080.00 in Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GPI traded down $10.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $411.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 231,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,460. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $395.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $356.99. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $440.32. The company has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $12.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $437.67.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company's stock worth $55,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth about $3,286,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,052,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company's stock worth $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.