Edward P. Linnen Sells 10,000 Shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Stock

Key Points

• Edward P. Linnen, EVP of Avis Budget Group, sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $156.83, totaling approximately $1.57 million, reducing his stake by 19.64% to 40,915 shares.
• Avis Budget Group's stock increased by 2.0% on Monday, reaching $158.76, with a trading volume lower than its average.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings showed a significant miss on earnings per share at $0.10, missing estimates of $2.02, while revenue declined by 0.3% compared to the previous year.

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) EVP Edward P. Linnen sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.83, for a total transaction of $1,568,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,416,699.45. The trade was a 19.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of CAR traded up $5.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.49. 1,290,462 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,267,496. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $170.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 2.19. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.03 and a 52-week high of $212.81.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($1.92). The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. Avis Budget Group had a negative net margin of 19.06% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 148,972 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,009,000 after purchasing an additional 12,440 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 4th quarter worth $3,303,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 736 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,810 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 258.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,412 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,180 shares during the period. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CAR shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $143.80.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.