Wellington Management Group LLP Buys Shares of 30,906 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

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

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tabor Asset Management LP lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 61.9% during the third quarter. Tabor Asset Management LP now owns 10,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 4,180 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,518,000 after buying an additional 10,969 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Red Wave Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 424.7% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,494 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $427.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $440.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $392.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 5.01%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.