Inspire Investing LLC Sells 222 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,006 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,452.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.80.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $355.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.32. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $228.84 and a 1 year high of $393.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $362.56 and a 200-day moving average of $322.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.36 by $0.44. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 3.03%. The company had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.73 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.39 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,344.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.