Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $1.25 Million Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 126.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company's stock worth $167,075,000 after purchasing an additional 9,587 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 84,832 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 157,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,389,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,721,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on 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, Citigroup assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $463.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $449.86.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI traded down $1.57 during trading on Monday, hitting $410.86. 13,068 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,653. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $279.86 and a one year high of $490.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average is $407.31 and its 200-day moving average is $418.60.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 5.61%.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 8,260 shares in the company, valued at $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.