Pitcairn Co. Has $840,000 Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Pitcairn Co. cut its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,194 shares of the company’s stock after selling 313 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 152,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,576,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Woodson Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% in the 1st quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,643,000 after purchasing an additional 76,102 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,255,000 after buying an additional 16,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shellback Capital LP grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $421.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $422.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $377.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $12.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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 currently 5.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens began 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. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.20.

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.