Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp decreased its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 59.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,386 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark raised Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $456.00.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $327.82 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $292.44 and a 12 month high of $488.39. The company has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $365.64.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.28 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.