Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Major Shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. Buys 26,561 Shares of Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 26,561 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $276.03 per share, with a total value of $7,331,632.83. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,222,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $337,408,030.80. The trade was a 2.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Conifer Management, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 1st, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 3,539 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.66 per share, for a total transaction of $954,326.74.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE:GPI opened at $284.42 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $249.54 and a one year high of $488.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $289.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 9.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on GPI. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $392.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after buying an additional 25,424,532 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25,782.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,867,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,852,958 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $281,561,390. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,612,000 after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.