Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $2.53 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,290 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Group 1 Automotive worth $2,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 11.0% in the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 70,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,832,000 after purchasing an additional 6,946 shares in the last quarter. Covalis Capital LLP bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,330,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,703,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $2,770,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $299.72 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $271.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.25 and a 1 year high of $310.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.86 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 4.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GPI shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.67.

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.