Conifer Management, L.L.C. Purchases 26,561 Shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 26,561 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $276.03 per share, with a total value of $7,331,632.83. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,222,360 shares in the company, valued at $337,408,030.80. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Conifer Management, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 1st, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 3,539 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.66 per share, with a total value of $954,326.74.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $301.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $289.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.54 and a 1 year high of $488.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.82.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 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 presently 9.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $221,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 25,782.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,867,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,852,958 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $326,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $392.44.

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.