Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $4.80 Million Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 68.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,565 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,091 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.09% of Group 1 Automotive worth $4,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 188 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $473.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares in the company, valued at $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,674 shares in the company, valued at $7,365,072.54. The trade was a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI traded up $5.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $438.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 399,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,453. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $279.86 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $426.81 and its 200-day moving average is $427.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $9.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. 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.