Legal & General Group Plc Has $15.74 Million Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,344 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,384 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.28% of Group 1 Automotive worth $15,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GPI. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 188 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $450.33.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $392.50. The company had a trading volume of 179,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,382. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $422.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $414.78. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.05. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.42 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.44%.

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.