Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Reduces Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 8.0%, holding 86,795 shares valued at approximately $37.90 million after selling 7,559 shares in the second quarter.
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly earnings of $11.52 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a 21.4% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 5.51%.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,795 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,559 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.67% of Group 1 Automotive worth $37,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,499,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,287.8% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 102,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,544,000 after purchasing an additional 94,650 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,750,000 after acquiring an additional 90,401 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 130.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 99,914 shares of the company's stock worth $38,162,000 after purchasing an additional 56,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advent International L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the first quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company's stock worth $89,833,000 after purchasing an additional 31,244 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.3%

GPI traded up $1.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $453.00. The company had a trading volume of 125,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,001. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $446.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $429.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $344.38 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.86.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $476.57.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,343.84. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.