R Squared Ltd Invests $343,000 in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 90.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 80 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $478.00.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $424.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $344.92 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The company has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $451.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $435.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The company’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.82 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

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.