Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $1.44 Million Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,931 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,981 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPI. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $392.44.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $301.91 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $249.54 and a one year high of $488.39. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $289.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $313.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.82 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 9.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 26,561 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $276.03 per share, for a total transaction of $7,331,632.83. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,222,360 shares in the company, valued at $337,408,030.80. The trade was a 2.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.