Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Increases Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,459 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,822 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned about 0.17% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $7,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,426,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $82,079,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $51,118,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,278,000 after purchasing an additional 29,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at $5,316,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of ABG stock traded up $3.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $222.34. 122,961 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 204,345. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.98. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.68 and a 12 month high of $312.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $231.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.11.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.84 by ($0.02). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.21 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ABG. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $258.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Daniel Clara sold 1,217 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.64, for a total transaction of $361,010.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,747 shares in the company, valued at $1,111,510.08. This trade represents a 24.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.