HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,720 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $3,286,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 327.0% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 15,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,596,000 after acquiring an additional 11,839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive 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 sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI stock opened at $414.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $396.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $357.37. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $255.73 and a 12-month high of $440.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.35. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $12.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

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.