28,231 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 28,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,220,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock opened at $269.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $290.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.17. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.54 and a 1 year high of $488.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). The business had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.82 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.