Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Bought by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,787 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.10% of Group 1 Automotive worth $4,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company's stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,515 shares of the company's stock worth $66,389,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 181.3% in the fourth quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 21,321 shares of the company's stock worth $8,986,000 after buying an additional 13,742 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 315.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company's stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total value of $1,325,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,365,072.54. The trade was a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE GPI traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $411.96. 26,691 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $436.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $431.09. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.91 and a 52 week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GPI shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $415.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Guggenheim downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $470.14.

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.