Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 1,178 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC trimmed its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,492 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,178 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $5,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,721,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $37,119,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,949,000 after purchasing an additional 84,832 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $21,608,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,573,000 after buying an additional 39,982 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $450.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $380.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $436.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $414.54. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.31 and a 12 month high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS 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 18.09%. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

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.