MQS Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,055 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advent International L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,833,000 after purchasing an additional 31,244 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $74,499,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 180,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 173,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,287.8% in the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 102,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,544,000 after acquiring an additional 94,650 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $424.12 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $451.59 and a 200-day moving average of $436.34. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.85. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $344.92 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.82 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $478.00.

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.