Natixis Advisors LLC Takes $3.87 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 10,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,870,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.7% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $421.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $422.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $377.50 and a 200-day moving average of $342.27.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued 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 net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $12.07 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPI. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. 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. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.20.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.