Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 145 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,339 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth $452,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE GPI opened at $430.49 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $255.73 and a 12-month high of $440.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $387.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.21. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.35.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $12.07 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 target price on the stock. Guggenheim lifted 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, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.