Quest Partners LLC Has $706,000 Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Quest Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 72.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,844 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,873 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at $204,000. PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $3,665,000. BOKF NA acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $287,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI traded up $12.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $421.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 85,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,637. 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 capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $377.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.27. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $422.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $12.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.