Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC Has $497,000 Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 30.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,301 shares of the company's stock after selling 565 shares during the quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $144,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock traded up $1.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $466.09. 105,000 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 149,273. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $279.86 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $432.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $429.11.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 17.96%. The company's revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $473.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.