Amundi Purchases 1,037 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 15.4%, owning a total of 7,754 shares valued at approximately $2.89 million after buying an additional 1,037 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Allspring Global Investments and SG Americas Securities, significantly boosted their stakes in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter, highlighting increased interest in the company.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share with an annual yield of 0.4%, contributing to a generally positive outlook despite mixed analyst ratings.

Amundi boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,754 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.06% of Group 1 Automotive worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 60.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 109 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% in the 1st 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 stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GPI. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $476.57.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $458.89. 192,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,339. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $447.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $429.89. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $344.38 and a 12 month high of $490.09. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.