Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Holdings Raised by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,328 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $427.10 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $392.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.37. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $440.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.35.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $12.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive 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.