Wellington Management Group LLP Invests $11.84 Million in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 30,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,838,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.23% of Group 1 Automotive as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,052,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.7% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.8% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $427.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $392.47 and its 200 day moving average is $355.01. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $255.73 and a twelve month high of $440.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. Research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.