New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,324 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,240 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $5,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $4,369,000 after purchasing an additional 6,384 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 buying an additional 33,542 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,538,000. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 784.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 49,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.1%

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $296.47 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.10 and a 12 month high of $488.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.83.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released 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 business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $440.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $433.75.

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.