Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,798 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Group 1 Automotive worth $5,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth about $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GPI. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $301.52 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $327.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $347.96. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $292.44 and a 1-year high of $488.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.81.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.40%.

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.