Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 2,205 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,382 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,205 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.22% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $10,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,417,000. Eminence Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 328,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,811,000 after purchasing an additional 70,089 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,056,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,818,000 after purchasing an additional 69,975 shares during the period. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE increased its stake 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 valued at $10,811,000 after purchasing an additional 24,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 21.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 1.3 %

ABG stock opened at $227.95 on Tuesday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $178.40 and a fifty-two week high of $277.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $236.36 and a 200-day moving average of $229.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly 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). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at $453,211,473.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other 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 value of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of Asbury Automotive Group 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 completion of 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.