Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,952 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,758 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $15,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.3 %

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $446.11 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.00 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $448.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $407.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.44%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This trade represents 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. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.