SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 315.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,720 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, 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 transaction of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total value of $1,325,130.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE GPI traded up $6.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $445.43. 240,611 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 143,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $422.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.38. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.86 and a 52 week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.68 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Guggenheim downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.