California State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,284 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,660 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of Group 1 Automotive worth $3,867,902 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,556,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 24.0% in the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 652 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 370 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI traded down $3.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $280.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 59,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,018. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.54 and a twelve month high of $470.48. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The company's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Group 1 Automotive from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $373.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 83,121 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $282.63 per share, with a total value of $23,492,488.23. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 1,305,481 shares in the company, valued at $368,968,095.03. The trade was a 6.80% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 254,380 shares of company stock valued at $72,603,674. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of manufacturers, including domestic, Asian and European brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive maintenance and repair services, sells replacement parts and accessories, and offers financing, insurance and other related products. Its dealerships also support customers through collision-repair operations and online vehicle purchasing tools.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive has expanded through dealership acquisitions and organic growth.

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