Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 2,616 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,298 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,616 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $13,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in 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 buying an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% in the 1st quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,643,000 after purchasing an additional 76,102 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted 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. Shellback Capital LP grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 57.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,222,000 after purchasing an additional 23,051 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.80.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $401.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $373.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $340.54. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.33. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $422.28.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.52 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.