Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 660 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 660 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $14,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 154,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,297,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $144,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 315.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $260,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.7 %

GPI opened at $430.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.33. 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 12 month low of $261.20 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $450.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $410.60.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.44%.

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.