Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 52,193 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,011 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $12,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,155,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,910,000 after purchasing an additional 46,952 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,104,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,906,000 after purchasing an additional 5,757 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,842,000 after purchasing an additional 152,669 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,561,000 after purchasing an additional 91,767 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 218,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,297,000 after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of ABG stock opened at $187.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.94. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.01 and a 1 year high of $274.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.74.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 3.05%.The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 500 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $202.30 per share, for a total transaction of $101,150.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,092,420. The trade was a 10.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ABG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America started coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $232.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

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.