Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 11,914 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,843 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,914 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Group 1 Automotive worth $24,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of GPI opened at $426.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $407.16 and a 200 day moving average of $425.02. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.86 and a 52-week high of $490.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

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.

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