Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 55.5%, leaving it with 1,318 shares valued at approximately $503,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Marshall Wace LLP and MetLife Investment Management LLC, have significantly adjusted their positions in Group 1 Automotive, indicating a changing interest among institutions.
• Group 1 Automotive reported a quarterly EPS of $11.52, exceeding estimates, with revenue growing 21.4% year-over-year, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 55.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,318 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $336,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 75,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,113,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 41,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,740,000 after buying an additional 8,774 shares during the period. Finally, Paulson Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.5% during the first quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GPI shares. 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 note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $479.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value 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 represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,365,072.54. The trade was a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $469.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 105,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,822. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $336.33 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $439.42 and a 200 day moving average of $428.98. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.