Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 51,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,608,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,259,000 after buying an additional 65,414 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,174,000 after buying an additional 53,811 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,573,000 after buying an additional 39,982 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,117,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $387.26 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.31 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $448.95 and its 200-day moving average is $411.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.44%.

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.