Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 637,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 4.79% of Group 1 Automotive worth $244,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of GPI opened at $433.74 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $440.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $377.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $12.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.