BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 51.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,490 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,956 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.10% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $4,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 234.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 501 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 275.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 604 shares of the company's stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 801.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 631 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 561 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, COO Daniel Clara sold 1,217 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.64, for a total value of $361,010.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,111,510.08. The trade was a 24.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $258.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

ABG traded down $1.43 during trading on Monday, hitting $233.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 91,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,790. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $201.68 and a one year high of $312.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $225.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.38.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.