The board of directors of Group 1 Automotive, an automotive retailer with 201 dealerships in the U.S. and U.K., has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share that will be payable on Dec.15, to stockholders of record as of Dec. 1. The dividend is consistent with the company’s previously announced increase of 20% in its annualized dividend rate from $1.50 per share in 2022 to $1.80 per share in 2023.
The company also updated its year-to-date share repurchase activity of 678,743 shares of common stock at an average price of $233.31 for a total of $158.4 million, which represents approximately 4.7 percent of Group 1’s outstanding common shares on Jan. 1, 2023. As of Nov. 15, the company had $157.7 million available under its current share repurchase authorization. Purchases may be made from time to time, based on market conditions, legal requirements, and other corporate considerations, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The company expects that any repurchase of shares will be funded by cash from operations. Repurchased shares will be held in treasury.