Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 4,276 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 54.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,139 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $4,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,002,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424,532 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 968.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,931,000 after buying an additional 76,514 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 34.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 226,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,278,000 after buying an additional 58,641 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 365.9% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 63,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,992,000 after buying an additional 50,248 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2,053.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,403,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock opened at $317.55 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $332.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $359.20. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $292.44 and a 52-week high of $488.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.17 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

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.