Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Major Shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. Purchases 47,353 Shares

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 47,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $282.48 per share, for a total transaction of $13,376,275.44. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,409,993 shares in the company, valued at $398,294,822.64. This trade represents a 3.48% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Thursday, September 10th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 36,647 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $280.86 per share, with a total value of $10,292,676.42.
• On Friday, September 4th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 57,159 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $300.15 per share, with a total value of $17,156,273.85.
• On Thursday, September 3rd, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 83,121 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $282.63 per share, for a total transaction of $23,492,488.23.
• 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, for a total transaction of $7,331,632.83.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 3,539 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.66 per share, with a total value of $954,326.74.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI traded down $3.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $278.24. The stock had a trading volume of 121,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,817. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.54 and a 1 year high of $485.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GPI shares. DA Davidson set a $425.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $373.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 352.3% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 81.4% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 26,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,621,000 after buying an additional 11,748 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 444.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 256 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $190,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.