Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Shares Sold by Ironwood Investment Management LLC

Ironwood Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Group 1 Automotive accounts for 3.6% of Ironwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Ironwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $7,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GPI. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.5 %

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $387.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $449.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $410.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.00 and a 52-week high of $490.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. Equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Group 1 Automotive 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 value of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.