California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,756 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,740 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $7,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 78,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,064,000 after acquiring an additional 26,822 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3,268.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth about $476,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $331.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.83. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $279.10 and a twelve month high of $488.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $312.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $333.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.17 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 8.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.89.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.