Captrust Financial Advisors Grows Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 68.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,425 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $832,000 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. GoodHaven Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,916,000. Magnolia Group LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 149,123 shares of the company's stock worth $36,241,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,805 shares of the company's stock worth $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABG shares. Craig Hallum downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens raised their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $258.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

ABG stock traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $223.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,019. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company's 50 day moving average is $225.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.09. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $312.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.98.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.21 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current 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.