Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 5,273 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 40.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,273 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2,053.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,403,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,167,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,001.6% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 12,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,026,000 after purchasing an additional 11,619 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $98,125,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,002,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424,532 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $331.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $312.66 and a 200-day moving average of $333.92. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $279.10 and a one year high of $488.39. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Evercore set a $440.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.89.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.