TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Sells 2,619 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. trimmed its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 69.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,170 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,619 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPI. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 6.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPI. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on 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 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $373.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 83,121 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $282.63 per share, for a total transaction of $23,492,488.23. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,305,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $368,968,095.03. This trade represents a 6.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders bought 254,380 shares of company stock valued at $72,603,674. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $278.24 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $289.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $249.54 and a one year high of $485.57.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of manufacturers, including domestic, Asian and European brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive maintenance and repair services, sells replacement parts and accessories, and offers financing, insurance and other related products. Its dealerships also support customers through collision-repair operations and online vehicle purchasing tools.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive has expanded through dealership acquisitions and organic growth.