Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Makes New $36.04 Million Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 94,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,039,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.71% of Group 1 Automotive as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,721,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company's stock worth $217,312,000 after buying an additional 107,663 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% in the 1st 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 period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $37,119,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,949,000 after purchasing an additional 84,832 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI traded up $0.35 on Wednesday, reaching $442.96. 119,030 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 142,825. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.86 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $415.15 and a 200-day moving average of $427.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Guggenheim lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $454.43.

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 that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.