Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Holdings Decreased by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,253 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.33% of Group 1 Automotive worth $18,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advent International L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the first quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,833,000 after purchasing an additional 31,244 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $74,499,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 180,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 151,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,026,000 after purchasing an additional 13,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 114,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,503,000 after purchasing an additional 38,705 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,939,731.78. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $399.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $421.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $435.04. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $355.91 and a 52-week high of $490.09.

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

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPI. Bank of America dropped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $510.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Six 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.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $478.88.

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.