Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 37 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,538 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $452.31 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $444.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $403.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $258.77 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.36.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

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

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.33.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive 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.