Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $58.14 Million Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. by 1.7%, owning about 1.18% of the company, valued at approximately $58.1 million.
• Group 1 Automotive's stock has declined by 2.0% recently, with a market cap of $5.72 billion and a current stock price around $442.26.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.5%, with payments starting September 16th for eligible shareholders.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 152,227 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,696 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.18% of Group 1 Automotive worth $58,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advent International L.P. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company's stock worth $85,961,000 after buying an additional 80,870 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 173,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 157,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,581,000 after purchasing an additional 15,280 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 143,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,552,000 after purchasing an additional 15,694 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $36,039,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total transaction of $1,325,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. Zacks Research downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $8.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $454.16. 37,799 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,243. The company has a 50 day moving average of $438.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $429.26. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $336.33 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.83.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 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 company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 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.