Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 110 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,335 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,518,000 after acquiring an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 232,846 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 152,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim lifted their target price 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. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $450.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $258.77 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $447.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $406.44.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.44%.

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.