Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,597 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,659 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.89% of Group 1 Automotive worth $44,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake 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 valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.2% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 8.5%

Shares of GPI traded down $37.60 on Thursday, hitting $406.92. 452,514 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 151,731. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $440.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $431.30. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $298.92 and a one year high of $490.09.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $435.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $470.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,350,008.20. This trade represents 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 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.