State of Alaska Department of Revenue Reduces Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,468 shares of the company’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,927 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth $475,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 648.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.80.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI stock opened at $364.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $365.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $329.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $246.02 and a 12-month high of $393.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.93 by ($0.03). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 4.44%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $421,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by 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.