Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,596 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,258 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,596 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $26,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 131.3% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $131,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of GPI opened at $347.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $395.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.77. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $338.68 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 8.00%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $470.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday. Evercore began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, December 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $472.29.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.