Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Purchased by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 396,401 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,587 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 2.98% of Group 1 Automotive worth $167,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,518,000 after purchasing an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company's stock worth $117,080,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company's stock worth $67,949,000 after acquiring an additional 84,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on GPI shares. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $450.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE GPI traded up $7.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $380.26. 284,467 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,018. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.31 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $436.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $414.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.44%.

Group 1 Automotive 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.