Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 170,636 Shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. $CAR

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) by 47,007.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 170,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 170,636 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Avis Budget Group were worth $21,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 102.3% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 136.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. American Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the third quarter worth about $41,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 19.6% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 100,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avis Budget Group

In related news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 1,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.54, for a total value of $178,503.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ravi Simhambhatla sold 3,469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.09, for a total transaction of $638,608.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,432.84. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 18,249 shares of company stock valued at $4,014,515 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 50.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CAR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Avis Budget Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on Avis Budget Group in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Avis Budget Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avis Budget Group presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $125.00.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

CAR stock opened at $151.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $210.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.51. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.96 and a 52-week high of $847.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.93 and a beta of 1.91.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported ($8.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($6.82) by ($1.19). The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($14.35) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc operates as a leading global provider of vehicle rental and mobility solutions. Through its two core brands, Avis® and Budget®, the company offers a broad range of rental options including daily, weekly and monthly car rentals for leisure and business travelers. In addition to traditional airport and off-airport car rental services, Avis Budget Group delivers innovative mobility platforms such as car-sharing programs and connected fleet solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of corporate, government and individual customers.

The company’s roots trace back to Avis Rent a Car, founded in 1946, and Budget Rent a Car, established in 1958.