Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $522,000 Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $522,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GPI. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $1,199,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 77.6% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 11.0% in the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 146.6% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 6.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,847,000 after buying an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.3 %

GPI opened at $300.46 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $214.25 and a 1-year high of $310.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $272.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.42.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.44 by ($0.94). The company had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $10.86 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 4.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

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.