Michael David Jones Sells 1,400 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total transaction of $412,482.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,398,557.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $295.16 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 market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $276.48 and a 200-day moving average of $276.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.86 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Guggenheim raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.83.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,082,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 11.0% in the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 70,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,832,000 after buying an additional 6,946 shares during the last quarter. Covalis Capital LLP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $16,330,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,703,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,103,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.