Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Stake Lowered by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 61.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,860 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,734 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 12.4% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $418.55 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $440.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $412.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $366.93. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $12.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPI. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.