Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 3,874 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,874 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.21% of Group 1 Automotive worth $10,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,389,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 74,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,653,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 154,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 181.3% in the fourth quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 21,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,986,000 after purchasing an additional 13,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.8%

GPI opened at $422.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.86 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $413.11 and its 200 day moving average is $426.72.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 5.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Guggenheim lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $454.43.

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.