Farther Finance Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 284 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock opened at $387.26 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $262.31 and a one year high of $490.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $448.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $411.26. 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 market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.44%.

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.