Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management lowered its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 107,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,700 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $42,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,143,000 after acquiring an additional 6,239 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter worth $229,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,993,000 after acquiring an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 46.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 note on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $456.00.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.2%

GPI stock opened at $325.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $330.20 and its 200 day moving average is $361.43. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $292.44 and a one year high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $10.17 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.22 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.40%.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.