American International Group Inc. Reduces Position in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)

American International Group Inc. trimmed its position in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,880 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Avis Budget Group were worth $4,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CAR. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group in the third quarter worth about $62,892,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,234,000. Par Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 848,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,486,000 after purchasing an additional 117,600 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 63.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 289,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,047,000 after purchasing an additional 112,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 327,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,013,000 after purchasing an additional 105,867 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ CAR opened at $112.38 on Friday. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.53 and a 1-year high of $244.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 2.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.55.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported ($3.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.65) by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 480.48% and a net margin of 10.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CAR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Avis Budget Group from $202.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Avis Budget Group from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $118.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.57.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network, as well as the Budget brand, a supplier of vehicle rental and other mobility solutions focused primarily on more value-conscious customers comprising Budget car rental, and Budget Truck, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 19,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of dealer-operated and company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States.