First Trust Advisors LP Sells 4,066 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,359 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,066 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.16% of Group 1 Automotive worth $9,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,075,000 after acquiring an additional 9,587 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,949,000 after acquiring an additional 84,832 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,515 shares of the company's stock worth $66,389,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,721,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI traded up $6.34 on Friday, hitting $411.67. 81,214 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,169. The company's 50 day moving average price is $407.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $418.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $279.86 and a one year high of $490.09.

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

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $502.00 to $426.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $463.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $449.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company 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.