J. Goldman & Co LP Buys Shares of 10,171 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,287,000. J. Goldman & Co LP owned about 0.08% of Group 1 Automotive as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the company's stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,536 shares of the company's stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction 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 represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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 reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE GPI traded up $0.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $439.71. 121,241 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,259. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $403.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $421.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.49 EPS. Group 1 Automotive's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

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.