Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Holdings Raised by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Key Points

• Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1,287.8% in the second quarter, owning a total of 102,000 shares valued at approximately $44.5 million.
• Insider trading activity includes Director Steven Mizell selling 525 shares, and Director Lincoln Pereira selling 7,000 shares, significantly reducing their ownership in the company.
• Group 1 Automotive's quarterly earnings report beat expectations, with an EPS of $11.52 compared to analysts' predictions of $10.31, reflecting a revenue increase of 21.4% year-over-year.

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 1,287.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 94,650 shares during the quarter. Group 1 Automotive comprises about 0.1% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt owned approximately 0.79% of Group 1 Automotive worth $44,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GPI. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,343.84. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 82,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. This 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $476.57.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI traded down $6.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $454.60. 297,521 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,033. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $344.38 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $446.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $430.05. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%.The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.