GW&K Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

GW&K Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 136,074 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,619 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.08% of Group 1 Automotive worth $53,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GPI. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $5,167,000. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $328.67 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $331.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.81. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $292.44 and a fifty-two week high of $488.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.17 EPS. Research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Benchmark upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.