Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 2,764 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, purchasing 2,764 shares valued at approximately $1,056,000 during the first quarter.
• A variety of institutional investors including Bessemer Group Inc. and Fifth Third Bancorp have also increased their positions in Group 1 Automotive, with 99.92% of the stock owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Group 1 Automotive recently reported quarterly earnings of $11.52 per share, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 21.4% year-over-year.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,056,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Advent International L.P. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 80,870 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 180,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,973,000 after buying an additional 3,277 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 173,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,307,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 157,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,581,000 after buying an additional 15,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 143,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,552,000 after buying an additional 15,694 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,365,072.54. The trade was a 15.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI traded down $8.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $442.26. The company had a trading volume of 219,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,008. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day moving average price is $437.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $429.70. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $336.33 and a 52 week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion during 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%. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley set a $485.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $479.43.

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.