MML Investors Services LLC Trims Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

MML Investors Services LLC cut its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,315 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,013 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $463.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $502.00 to $426.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $449.86.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.4 %

GPI stock opened at $408.23 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $411.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $417.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.05. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $279.86 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Group 1 Automotive 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.