Perpetual Ltd raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 88.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,069 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 971 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company's stock worth $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company's stock worth $207,518,000 after acquiring an additional 10,969 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,253,000 after purchasing an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $436.83.
Read Our Latest Analysis on GPI
Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.2 %
Shares of GPI traded up $9.47 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $449.52. 45,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,539. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $255.73 and a 12-month high of $456.68. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $424.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $379.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.36. 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 (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $12.07 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.29 earnings per share for the current year.
Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.
Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive
In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Group 1 Automotive Profile
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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.
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