Marshall Wace LLP Has $1.25 Million Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 146.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,960 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 107,663 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,075,000 after buying an additional 9,587 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased 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 buying an additional 84,832 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $65,721,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $502.00 to $426.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $463.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $449.86.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $407.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $410.17 and a 200-day moving average of $417.25. 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 data 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 company had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.61%.

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.

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