Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 4,826 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Quadrature Capital Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 63.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,724 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,826 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $452,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,286,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company's stock worth $190,004,000 after buying an additional 115,143 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company's stock worth $12,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GPI. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:GPI traded up $2.09 on Friday, hitting $430.49. 80,534 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 127,969. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $387.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $440.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.01%.

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.