GW&K Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

GW&K Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 136,074 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,619 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $53,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 3.4% during the fourth 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. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $328.67 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $292.44 and a 1 year high of $488.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $331.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.45.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

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.