Swiss National Bank reduced its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI – Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company owned 27,300 shares of the company after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Group 1 Automotive worth $7,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also made changes to their positions in GPI. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $598,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $205,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $1,305,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 648.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 648.4% during the 1st quarter. its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the shares are currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Car trade down by 2.3%

Group 1 Automotive shares opened at $303.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $303.70 and a 200-day moving average of $286.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.04. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one-year low of $228.84 and a one-year high of $323.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.15, a price-to-earnings growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.35.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24. The company reported $9.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.52 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 22.45%. On average, analysts expect Group 1 Automotive, Inc. to post 38.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive announces dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend payment of $1.88 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date for this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio currently stands at 4.44%.

Insider activity

In other news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.61, for a total value of $754,519.57. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,944,552.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available for access via the SEC website. In related news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.61, for a total transaction of $754,519.57. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,944,552.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed via this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total value of $412,482.00. Following the sale, the VP now directly owns 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,398,557.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,007 shares of the company’s stock for $1,221,218. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts set new price targets

A number of brokerages have recently given their opinions on GPI. Guggenheim raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.00.

View our latest research report on Group 1 Automotive

About Group 1 Automotive

(Free Report)

Group 1 Automotive, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is engaged in the automotive retail business 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 provides automotive maintenance and repair services.

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