Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $2.08 Million Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 36.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,935 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,312,000 after purchasing an additional 107,663 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company's stock worth $167,075,000 after acquiring an additional 9,587 shares during the period. Advent International L.P. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company's stock worth $85,961,000 after acquiring an additional 80,870 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company's stock worth $67,949,000 after acquiring an additional 84,832 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 157,970 shares of the company's stock worth $66,581,000 after acquiring an additional 15,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on GPI. Guggenheim lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $426.73. The company had a trading volume of 98,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,652. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $407.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $425.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $279.86 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.94.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

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.