Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 90.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 80 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,293,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $416.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $344.38 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $450.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $432.49.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%.The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.82 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $476.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% 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.