Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Acquired by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter, making the stock one of its largest holdings and pushing institutional ownership to 99.92%.
• Group 1 Automotive shares were down 6.0% to $314.19, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week low of $292.44.
• The company reported Q1 earnings of $8.66 per share, missing expectations, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $456.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 366,770.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,431,464 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,424,532 shares during the quarter. Group 1 Automotive comprises approximately 4.9% of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 201.34% of Group 1 Automotive worth $10,002,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.1% in the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 595 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 6.4% during the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 599 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 6.0%

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $314.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $330.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.65. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $292.44 and a 52 week high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPI. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Benchmark raised Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $456.00.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc NYSE: GPI is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

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