New York State Common Retirement Fund Buys 969 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 34,815 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $14,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of GPI opened at $451.10 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $443.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $402.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $258.77 and a 12-month high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. As a group, research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GPI shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $460.33.

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.