Petrus Trust Company LTA Acquires Shares of 1,154 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 109 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $476.57.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 4.6%

NYSE:GPI traded down $22.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $465.64. 265,005 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,523. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.86. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $344.38 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The firm's 50 day moving average is $447.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $429.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The firm's revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 8 shares in the company, valued at $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% 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 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.