Palisade Capital Management LP Has $24.50 Million Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Palisade Capital Management LP reduced its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,131 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,786 shares during the quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP owned about 0.49% of Group 1 Automotive worth $24,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings 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 buying 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 $87,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $144,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Group 1 Automotive news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GPI stock traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $466.09. 105,000 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 149,069. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $431.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $428.68. 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 $279.86 and a 12 month high of $490.09.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 5.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on GPI. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $473.00.

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.