Insider Buying: Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Major Shareholder Buys $23,492,488.23 in Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 83,121 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $282.63 per share, for a total transaction of $23,492,488.23. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,305,481 shares in the company, valued at $368,968,095.03. This represents a 6.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Conifer Management, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 4th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 57,159 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $300.15 per share, with a total value of $17,156,273.85.
• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 26,561 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $276.03 per share, with a total value of $7,331,632.83.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 3,539 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.66 per share, for a total transaction of $954,326.74.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $18.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $281.78. 257,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 189,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.54 and a 12 month high of $488.39. The business’s 50-day moving average is $289.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.99.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after buying an additional 25,424,532 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25,782.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,867,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852,958 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $281,561,390. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,125,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $392.44.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.