Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 334 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 23.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,107 shares of the company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 315.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 68.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,799,000 after buying an additional 5,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 60.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the sale, the director owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total value of $1,325,130.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,674 shares in the company, valued at $7,365,072.54. The trade was a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of GPI opened at $442.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.83. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $336.33 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $437.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $429.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Group 1 Automotive 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.