301,332 Shares in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Purchased by Madison Asset Management LLC

Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 301,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,592,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ABG. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.71.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 4.8%

ABG opened at $213.65 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $211.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.71. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.01 and a twelve month high of $263.38.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.