Conifer Management, L.L.C. Purchases 3,539 Shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 3,539 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.66 per share, with a total value of $954,326.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,195,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $322,459,158.34. This represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Conifer Management, L.L.C. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 2nd, Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 26,561 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $276.03 per share, for a total transaction of $7,331,632.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 6.2%

GPI stock opened at $301.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.54 and a twelve month high of $488.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $425.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $392.44.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.