Arizona State Retirement System Increases Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,832 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GPI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 150,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,941,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of GPI opened at $345.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $337.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.48. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $228.84 and a twelve month high of $379.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.36 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $4.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $11.73 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $367.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $421,188.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,344.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.