Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Major Shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. Buys 3,539 Shares of Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 3,539 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.66 per share, for a total transaction of $954,326.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,195,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,459,158.34. This represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Conifer Management, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 26,561 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $276.03 per share, with a total value of $7,331,632.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of GPI stock opened at $284.42 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.54 and a 1-year high of $488.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $289.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.82.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The business had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424,532 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 25,782.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,867,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,126,217,000 after buying an additional 3,852,958 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth about $281,561,390. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $98,125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GPI shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $392.44.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.