Fmr LLC Has $217.31 Million Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Fmr LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 515,593 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 107,663 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 3.87% of Group 1 Automotive worth $217,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. Titleist Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 42,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,902,000 after purchasing an additional 6,312 shares in the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 181.3% during the fourth quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 21,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,986,000 after buying an additional 13,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $389,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $450.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.1 %

GPI opened at $403.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $428.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $414.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.31 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.05.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.44%.

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.