DGS Capital Management LLC Has $649,000 Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

DGS Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,540 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,701,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,286,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after purchasing an additional 115,143 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 14.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,805,000 after purchasing an additional 5,942 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on GPI. Guggenheim increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $449.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $456.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $426.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $381.10.

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. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $12.07 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.