Foster & Motley Inc. Has $3.52 Million Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Foster & Motley Inc. decreased its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $3,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on GPI shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of GPI opened at $270.27 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $274.03. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.25 and a 52 week high of $310.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.86 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.41%.

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.