Burney Co. Lowers Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Burney Co. lessened its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,586 shares during the quarter. Burney Co. owned 0.34% of Group 1 Automotive worth $19,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 90.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 80 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $398.05 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $355.91 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $446.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $436.79.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.64 by ($0.19). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 1.67%.The company had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 7.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPI shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $478.00.

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.