Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Bought by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 40.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,350 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,444 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.33% of Group 1 Automotive worth $18,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,312,000 after buying an additional 107,663 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,075,000 after purchasing an additional 9,587 shares during the period. Advent International L.P. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,961,000 after purchasing an additional 80,870 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% during 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 period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 157,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,581,000 after purchasing an additional 15,280 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of GPI stock traded down $2.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $419.06. 183,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,667. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.86 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $412.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $426.40.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.