Financial Strategies Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Financial Strategies Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,462 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 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 Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $447.83.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $456.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.36. 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 fifty day moving average of $431.34 and a 200 day moving average of $387.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $471.28.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.12%.

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.