Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 126.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,963 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 74,844 shares of the company's stock worth $31,653,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 154,923 shares of the company's stock worth $65,297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 181.3% during the fourth quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 21,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,986,000 after buying an additional 13,742 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.6 %

Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $6.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $411.67. 81,214 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 143,001. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $279.86 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $407.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $417.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 5.61%.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.