Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $4.93 Million Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 81.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,549 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $4,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $447.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $423.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $377.94. 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 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $449.58.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $12.07 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid 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 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.