Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 19,764 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 0.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,166,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,764 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $529,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 104.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 466.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ABG opened at $219.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $237.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.09. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $201.68 and a one year high of $280.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.82.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 2.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABG shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.57.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE:ABG) is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.