Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $3.66 Million Stock Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 10.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,939 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $3,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,417,000. Eminence Capital LP grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 328,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,811,000 after acquiring an additional 70,089 shares during the last quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 107.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 47,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,811,000 after acquiring an additional 24,603 shares during the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 127,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,690,000 after acquiring an additional 22,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 450.6% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 26,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,134,000 after acquiring an additional 21,290 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $221.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.16. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $178.40 and a 12-month high of $277.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.31 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction of $1,884,687.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,211,473.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Asbury Automotive Group news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at $12,911,548.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction of $1,884,687.39. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.25.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts, and collision repair services.