Quest Partners LLC Has $706,000 Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Quest Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 72.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,873 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 3.1 %

GPI stock opened at $421.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $422.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $376.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.43.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $12.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPI. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.