Insider Selling: Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) VP Sells $654,184.41 in Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of GPI opened at $411.67 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $407.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $417.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 1.05. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.86 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The company had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. FMR LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,312,000 after purchasing an additional 107,663 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,075,000 after buying an additional 9,587 shares during the period. Advent International L.P. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,961,000 after buying an additional 80,870 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,949,000 after buying an additional 84,832 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 157,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,581,000 after acquiring an additional 15,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $463.00 price objective for the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $502.00 to $426.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $449.86.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.