Insider Buying: Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Major Shareholder Buys $17,327,411.76 in Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 71,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $242.03 per share, for a total transaction of $17,327,411.76. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,912,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,831,548.70. This represents a 3.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

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

• On Tuesday, September 29th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 68,648 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $239.48 per share, for a total transaction of $16,439,823.04.
• On Friday, September 25th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 50,532 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $252.06 per share, with a total value of $12,737,095.92.
• On Thursday, September 24th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 75,756 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $248.00 per share, with a total value of $18,787,488.00.
• On Friday, September 18th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 37,650 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $249.88 per share, for a total transaction of $9,407,982.00.
• On Thursday, September 17th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 28,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $266.06 per share, for a total transaction of $7,449,680.00.
• 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 price of $280.86 per share, with a total value of $10,292,676.42.
• On Wednesday, September 9th, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 47,353 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $282.48 per share, with a total value of $13,376,275.44.
• 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 price of $300.15 per share, for a total transaction 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 stock was purchased at an average cost of $276.03 per share, for a total transaction of $7,331,632.83.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $241.54. 354,508 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,875. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $275.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.30. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $235.11 and a 12-month high of $461.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.82.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPI. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $387.00 to $357.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $360.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $281,561,390. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,612,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $98,125,000. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at about $72,098,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of manufacturers, including domestic, Asian and European brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive maintenance and repair services, sells replacement parts and accessories, and offers financing, insurance and other related products. Its dealerships also support customers through collision-repair operations and online vehicle purchasing tools.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive has expanded through dealership acquisitions and organic growth.