National Bank of Canada FI Sells 39 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 15.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 212 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $81,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,253,000 after purchasing an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after buying an additional 115,143 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,259,000 after buying an additional 65,414 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,174,000 after buying an additional 53,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,117,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of GPI stock opened at $421.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $440.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $393.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $356.21.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The business 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 18.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $12.07 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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.