5,714 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Bought by Caxton Associates LLP

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, purchasing 5,714 shares valued at approximately $2.18 million during the 1st quarter.
• Group 1 Automotive's quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $11.52, exceeding analysts' expectations of $10.31, with revenues reaching $5.70 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a payment date set for September 16th and a current dividend yield of 0.4%.

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,182,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $74,499,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company's stock worth $345,750,000 after purchasing an additional 90,401 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 130.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 99,914 shares of the company's stock worth $38,162,000 after purchasing an additional 56,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advent International L.P. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company's stock worth $89,833,000 after purchasing an additional 31,244 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 4.6%

NYSE GPI traded down $22.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $465.64. 265,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 146,776. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $344.38 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $447.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $429.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued 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 is Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GPI. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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, Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $476.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.