Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 126 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Metis Global Partners LLC lowered its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,309 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth $1,037,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.4% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 62,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GPI. Bank of America decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.80.

Insider Activity

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $402.11 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $255.73 and a 52-week high of $422.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $371.84 and its 200 day moving average is $339.02. The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $12.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.