Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Director Lincoln Pereira Sells 6,000 Shares

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI traded up $4.86 on Wednesday, hitting $426.34. The company had a trading volume of 23,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,603. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $440.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $395.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $356.99.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $12.07 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $3,286,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,052,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPI shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $437.67.

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.