Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,952 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,758 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned 0.27% of Group 1 Automotive worth $15,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,286,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after buying an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 67,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,482,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPI. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $446.11 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $260.00 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $448.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $407.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.36.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.