State Street Corp Buys 10,969 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

State Street Corp lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 541,766 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,969 shares during the period. State Street Corp’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $207,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,253,000 after purchasing an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 152,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shellback Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after buying an additional 20,302 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $425.00 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $391.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $353.88. 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 $440.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.35.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm’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 firm posted $12.07 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.20.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company 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.