Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. cut its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,586 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $19,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 54.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 69,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,452,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $398.05 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $446.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $436.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $355.91 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.85.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.64 by ($0.19). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 1.67%.The business had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $478.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is 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.