International Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 64,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,270,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 13.0% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 29.5% during the third quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 34.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 8.2% during the second quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 29,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $222.80 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.47 and a 1 year high of $277.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $229.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced 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 return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.51%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.01 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABG has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens initiated coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at $12,911,548.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.