Foster & Motley Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,713 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. owned 0.08% of Group 1 Automotive worth $4,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 315.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 68.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,799,000 after buying an additional 5,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 96.8% during the first quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 4,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $478.00.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $433.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $452.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $433.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $344.38 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

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.