Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,937 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,101 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.15% of Group 1 Automotive worth $8,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares during the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% during the first quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,643,000 after purchasing an additional 76,102 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 57.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,222,000 after purchasing an additional 23,051 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of GPI opened at $368.18 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $393.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $365.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $330.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $12.07 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.99 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.80.

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.