Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 1,300 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,751 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.21% of Group 1 Automotive worth $10,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE GPI traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $426.87. The company had a trading volume of 47,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,290. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $381.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $345.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $440.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 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 lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $425.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.