Insider Buying: Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Major Shareholder Purchases $9,407,982.00 in Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 37,650 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $249.88 per share, with a total value of $9,407,982.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,512,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,891,025.20. This represents a 2.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, September 17th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 28,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $266.06 per share, with a total value of $7,449,680.00.
• On Thursday, September 10th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 36,647 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $280.86 per share, with a total value of $10,292,676.42.
• On Wednesday, September 9th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 47,353 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $282.48 per share, with a total value of $13,376,275.44.
• On Friday, September 4th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 57,159 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was acquired at an average price of $300.15 per share, with a total value of $17,156,273.85.
• On Thursday, September 3rd, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 83,121 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $282.63 per share, with a total value of $23,492,488.23.
• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 26,561 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $276.03 per share, for a total transaction of $7,331,632.83.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 3,539 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.66 per share, for a total transaction of $954,326.74.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI opened at $248.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $282.51 and a 200-day moving average of $307.68. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $246.21 and a 52-week high of $461.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $281,561,390. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,612,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,125,000. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,098,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Evercore set a $360.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $373.38.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of manufacturers, including domestic, Asian and European brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive maintenance and repair services, sells replacement parts and accessories, and offers financing, insurance and other related products. Its dealerships also support customers through collision-repair operations and online vehicle purchasing tools.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive has expanded through dealership acquisitions and organic growth.