Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 1,509 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 46.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,790 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth about $65,721,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company's stock worth $217,312,000 after acquiring an additional 107,663 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company's stock worth $345,750,000 after purchasing an additional 90,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company's stock worth $67,949,000 after purchasing an additional 84,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president owned 8,260 shares in the company, valued at $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total value of $1,325,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. The trade was a 15.25% 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPI. Citigroup increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $473.00.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI traded down $3.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $476.75. 137,836 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,146. The company has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $438.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $430.73. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $294.85 and a 52-week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.61%.

Group 1 Automotive 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.