Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 903 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 54.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,574 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter worth $87,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the first 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. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $144,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI traded down $3.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $476.75. 137,836 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,146. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $438.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $430.73. 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 12 month low of $294.85 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on 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. Citigroup raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Guggenheim cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $473.00.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.