Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Takes Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $8.71 on Wednesday, reaching $440.15. 137,299 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,347. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.86 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The firm's 50-day moving average is $403.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $421.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.94.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. The company had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.49 EPS. Group 1 Automotive's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.61%.

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.