Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Bought by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,602 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 1.34% of Group 1 Automotive worth $66,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company's stock worth $217,312,000 after acquiring an additional 107,663 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company's stock worth $167,075,000 after purchasing an additional 9,587 shares during the period. Advent International L.P. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company's stock worth $85,961,000 after purchasing an additional 80,870 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 157,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,581,000 after acquiring an additional 15,280 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,389,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Guggenheim lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Group 1 Automotive from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $435.00 to $415.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $470.14.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $411.51 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $298.92 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $440.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $431.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

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

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.

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