25,238 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 25,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,349,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $263.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.28. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.54 and a 52-week high of $488.39. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.82.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on GPI. UBS Group lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $392.44.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.