Insider Selling: Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Director Sells 800 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Maureen Morrison, a director at Asbury Automotive Group, sold 800 shares of the company at an average price of $255.61, which decreased her ownership by 12.08%.
• Asbury Automotive reported $7.43 EPS for the last quarter, beating expectations of $6.82, with revenue of $4.37 billion, though slightly below analyst estimates.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Asbury's stock, with two firms issuing a "Buy" rating while an average price target sits at $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total value of $204,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,488,672.64. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock traded down $1.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $257.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 185,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,807. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $243.05 and a 200 day moving average of $237.30. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.68 and a 12 month high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 3.13%.Asbury Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% in the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,055,000 after buying an additional 265,539 shares during the last quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 724,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,723,000 after buying an additional 10,924 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 472,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,717,000 after buying an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 10.1% in the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 373,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,444,000 after buying an additional 34,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $77,544,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $254.00.

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.