Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.1%

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $426.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $407.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.02. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.86 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.68 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 8,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.