Wolf Group Capital Advisors Lowers Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Wolf Group Capital Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,669 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,570 shares during the period. Wolf Group Capital Advisors owned about 0.05% of Group 1 Automotive worth $2,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,565 shares of the company's stock worth $4,799,000 after acquiring an additional 5,091 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 35.1% during the first quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.2% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 93.0% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,615,000 after purchasing an additional 10,869 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Guggenheim cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $473.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total transaction of $1,325,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. This trade represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.5%

GPI traded up $6.42 on Friday, reaching $445.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 240,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,533. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $422.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $427.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.86 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were 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 was Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.61%.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

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.