Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Takes Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,616 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.5 %

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $387.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.31 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $448.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $411.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 5.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.