Congress Asset Management Co. Grows Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 32,108 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,986 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $13,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. FMR LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 65,414 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,174,000 after acquiring an additional 53,811 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,573,000 after acquiring an additional 39,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $13,117,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock opened at $481.64 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $258.77 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The company has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $439.20 and a 200 day moving average of $397.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.25%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.86 EPS for the current year.

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

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.