Voloridge Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,719 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,047 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 0.32% of Group 1 Automotive worth $18,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,312,000 after purchasing an additional 107,663 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company's stock worth $167,075,000 after purchasing an additional 9,587 shares during the last quarter. Advent International L.P. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company's stock worth $85,961,000 after purchasing an additional 80,870 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 worth $66,581,000 after purchasing an additional 15,280 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three 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.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:GPI traded down $3.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $430.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,404. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.86 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. The firm's 50 day moving average is $409.17 and its 200-day moving average is $425.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.94.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The company had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.49 EPS. Group 1 Automotive's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.61%.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.