Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 51,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,608,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Group 1 Automotive as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on 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 restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE GPI traded down $4.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $395.69. 148,897 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,556. The business's 50 day moving average is $447.41 and its 200-day moving average is $411.42. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.31 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

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.