Advisors Preferred LLC Invests $573,000 in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth about $87,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth about $138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,350,008.20. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total transaction of $1,325,130.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (down previously from $435.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $470.14.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $21.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $437.34. The company had a trading volume of 267,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,734. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average is $438.21 and its 200-day moving average is $431.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $326.91 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.61%.

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.