Beck Bode LLC Purchases Shares of 907 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Beck Bode LLC acquired 907 shares of Group 1 Automotive, valued at approximately $346,000, as part of its new position in the first quarter according to its SEC filing.
• Group 1 Automotive reported significant financial results with $11.52 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and achieving a revenue increase of 21.4% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, which will be paid on September 16th, representing a 0.4% dividend yield.

Beck Bode LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 907 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position 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 worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted 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 worth $56,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,144 shares of the company's stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPI. Guggenheim cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $479.43.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director owned 8 shares in the company, valued at $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. The trade was a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,525 shares of company stock valued at $4,829,950 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $13.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $463.95. The stock had a trading volume of 101,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,806. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $442.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $428.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $336.33 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The firm has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.51%.

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.