Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $101,000 Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 20.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 264 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:GPI opened at $427.10 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $392.47 and its 200-day moving average is $355.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $440.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.35.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $12.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’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 transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive 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.