Swiss National Bank Sells 200 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Group 1 Automotive worth $11,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,518,000 after purchasing an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 154,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $395.69 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $262.31 and a one year high of $490.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $446.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were 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 yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.