Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 12.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 733 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPI. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.80.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:GPI opened at $414.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $371.84 and a 200-day moving average of $338.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $422.28.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.6 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.