Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Group 1 Automotive by 33.1% in the 1st quarter, now holding 11,850 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Insider activity saw Director Steven Mizell selling 525 shares at an average price of $417.98, leading to a 98.5% decrease in his ownership.
• Group 1 Automotive recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 33.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,850 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,850 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Group 1 Automotive worth $4,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the company's stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,939,731.78. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,525 shares of company stock worth $4,829,950. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $480.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $444.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $429.35. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $336.33 and a 1-year 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.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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