Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 1,200 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,058 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after purchasing an additional 115,143 shares during the period. Woodson Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% during the first quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,643,000 after buying an additional 76,102 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $21,296,000. Shellback Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% in the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,331,000 after acquiring an additional 20,302 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on 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 research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.80.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $354.28 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 has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $362.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $321.47. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $228.84 and a 12 month high of $393.93.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $4.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $11.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 4.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.