Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires Shares of 156 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.5 %

GPI opened at $484.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $437.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $395.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $258.77 and a 12-month high of $489.99.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.25%. As a group, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.12%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $447.83.

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.