Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Sells 138 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Two 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $447.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of GPI opened at $484.93 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $437.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $395.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $258.77 and a 52-week high of $489.99. The company has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.36.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 2.47%. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.12%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.