Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Major Shareholder Buys $17,156,273.85 in Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 57,159 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $300.15 per share, for a total transaction of $17,156,273.85. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,362,640 shares in the company, valued at $408,996,396. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Conifer Management, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 3rd, Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 83,121 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $282.63 per share, with a total value of $23,492,488.23.
• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 26,561 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $276.03 per share, for a total transaction of $7,331,632.83.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 3,539 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.66 per share, for a total transaction of $954,326.74.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $282.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $289.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.54 and a 1 year high of $488.39.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 352.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 26,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,621,000 after buying an additional 11,748 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 444.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 256 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Benchmark reissued 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 note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $373.38.

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.