Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 10,103 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,870,000. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Group 1 Automotive as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $204,000. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth about $3,665,000. BOKF NA acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $287,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,460 shares of the company's stock worth $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $12.48 on Friday, reaching $421.14. 85,892 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,637. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $422.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $377.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $342.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board 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 repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim upped 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 report on Thursday. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $425.20.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.