Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,343 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $12,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GPI. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 177.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 9,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,369,000 after purchasing an additional 6,384 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 184,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,822,000 after purchasing an additional 33,542 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,538,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2,053.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,403,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 784.5% during the third quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 3,907 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $308.77 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $292.44 and a 12 month high of $488.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $332.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $358.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Group 1 Automotive 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.