Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,667 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 74.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,237 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,119,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,949,000 after buying an additional 84,832 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,174,000 after buying an additional 53,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,608,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of GPI stock opened at $399.62 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.31 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 1.33. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $447.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $411.42.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. On average, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend 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.