Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Group 1 Automotive stake by 30% in the first quarter, selling 5,267 shares and retaining 12,306 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds still own 99.92% of the stock.
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly EPS of $9.61, below the $10.60 analyst consensus, while revenue fell 5.6% year over year to $5.39 billion. The stock opened at $264.33, near its 12-month low of $259.24.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55, equivalent to $2.20 annually and a 0.8% yield. Analysts’ overall rating is Hold, with a consensus price target of $400.22 after several firms lowered their targets.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 30.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,306 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,267 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.10% of Group 1 Automotive worth $4,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,966,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,028 shares of the company's stock worth $14,143,000 after acquiring an additional 6,239 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $229,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,993,000 after acquiring an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.5%

GPI opened at $264.33 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $304.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $259.24 and a 12 month high of $488.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.82.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The company had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.82 EPS. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $300.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $400.22.

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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