Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 77,615 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 6.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,132,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,615 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.08% of Group 1 Automotive worth $292,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 255.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Dupont Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at $198,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.2 %

GPI opened at $290.93 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.87 and a 52 week high of $293.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $12.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.48 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 26.41% and a net margin of 3.67%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $12.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 45.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,259 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.96, for a total transaction of $598,544.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,128,300.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 2,259 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.96, for a total transaction of $598,544.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,355 shares in the company, valued at $5,128,300.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daryl Kenningham sold 9,500 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.41, for a total value of $2,492,895.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,441,640.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Benchmark upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $300.00 to $340.00 in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $134.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Stephens increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $295.00 to $350.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 31st.

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.