Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Trims Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GPI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $65,721,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,312,000 after purchasing an additional 107,663 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth about $36,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,750,000 after purchasing an additional 90,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $37,119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $466.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.86 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $432.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $429.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 17.96% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.49 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GPI shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $473.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total transaction of $1,325,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. This trade represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,350,008.20. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.