Invesco Ltd. Sells 7,284 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.9%, now owning 177,151 shares valued at approximately $39.1 million.
• Asbury Automotive Group reported earnings of $7.43 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $6.82, while quarterly revenue rose by 3.0% year-over-year.
• Bank of America has upgraded its price target for Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and assigned a "buy" rating to the stock.

Invesco Ltd. reduced its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,284 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.90% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $39,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 30,639.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 129,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,790,000 after acquiring an additional 128,991 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 787,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,453,000 after acquiring an additional 107,317 shares during the period. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 224,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,606,000 after acquiring an additional 75,500 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 373,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,444,000 after acquiring an additional 34,160 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,037,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total transaction of $152,562.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,305.50. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of NYSE:ABG traded up $12.5490 during trading on Friday, hitting $252.6890. The stock had a trading volume of 105,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,210. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.68 and a 12 month high of $312.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $239.55 and its 200 day moving average is $241.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.61. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Cfra set a $225.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.