Hancock Whitney Corp Takes $207,000 Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 109 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the sale, the director owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% 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 corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI stock traded down $22.61 on Friday, hitting $465.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 265,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,523. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $447.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $429.67. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $344.38 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.82 EPS. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is 5.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $476.57.

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.