Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $411,000 Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 942 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 68.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,799,000 after acquiring an additional 5,091 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPI. Wall Street Zen lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Benchmark began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on 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. Five 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, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $478.00.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE GPI opened at $445.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.85. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $344.38 and a one year high of $490.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $452.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $435.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%.Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 5.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.