Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 36,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,197 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $10,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,143,000 after acquiring an additional 6,239 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth about $229,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 46.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at $231,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 26,561 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $276.03 per share, for a total transaction of $7,331,632.83. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 1,222,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $337,408,030.80. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GPI. Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $392.44.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $301.91 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.54 and a 52 week high of $488.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $289.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.19. 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 cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.82.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.16%.

Group 1 Automotive 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.