Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $13.52 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,298 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.26% of Group 1 Automotive worth $13,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 115,143 shares during the period. Woodson Capital Management LP boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% in the 1st quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,643,000 after buying an additional 76,102 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company's stock worth $32,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares during the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company's stock worth $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 57.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,236 shares of the company's stock worth $24,222,000 after purchasing an additional 23,051 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $401.67. 161,852 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,834. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $422.28. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $375.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $340.96.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $12.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on GPI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.80.

Group 1 Automotive 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.