Michael David Jones Sells 1,400 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total value of $412,482.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,398,557.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of GPI traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $292.53. The stock had a trading volume of 128,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,968. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $214.25 and a 52 week high of $310.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $275.32 and a 200 day moving average of $275.93. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.47 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPI. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth $53,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.