Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Director Sells $219,439.50 in Stock

Key Points

• Group 1 Automotive Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares for $219,439.50, marking a 98.5% decrease in his ownership, leaving him with only 8 shares valued at $3,343.84.
• The company's stock declined by 1.4% on Wednesday, closing at $413.00, despite reporting $11.52 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates.
• Group 1 Automotive recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a 0.48% yield and a payout ratio of 5.51%, highlighting its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8 shares in the company, valued at $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $2.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $409.70. The stock had a trading volume of 131,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 189,989. The company has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $436.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $430.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $326.91 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is currently 5.51%.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth about $74,499,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,721,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 107,663 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,287.8% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 102,000 shares of the company's stock worth $44,544,000 after acquiring an additional 94,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,039,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Benchmark began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $415.00 price objective (down from $435.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $470.14.

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.