Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,054 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.92, for a total value of $54,216.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,671.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.92, for a total transaction of $54,216.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,939,671.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total value of $412,482.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,535 shares in the company, valued at $3,398,557.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,007 shares of company stock worth $1,221,218 in the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GPI. Guggenheim upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.00.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.1 %

Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $281.20. 110,925 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,185. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.35. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $228.84 and a fifty-two week high of $323.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $303.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $9.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.52 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 22.45%. On average, research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.44%.

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.