Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 900 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,172 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $11,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,744,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,602,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 3,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on GPI. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $450.33.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $376.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $442.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $412.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.31 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

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.