Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Acquired by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 48,517 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,766 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $21,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $75,315,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $70,561,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth $17,959,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.3% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 114,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,503,000 after purchasing an additional 38,705 shares during the period. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,028,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $333.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $388.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $415.77. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $328.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.02 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 8.00%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays set a $470.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $410.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

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.