Bank of Montreal Can Increases Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 139.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,540 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.10% of Group 1 Automotive worth $4,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Woodson Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,643,000 after acquiring an additional 76,102 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,255,000 after acquiring an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 84,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,893,000 after acquiring an additional 33,901 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,296,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 62,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of GPI opened at $378.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $358.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $317.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $228.84 and a fifty-two week high of $393.93.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 3.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $11.73 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.18 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 4.44%.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.80.

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.