Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 73.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,820 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,953 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.10% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $4,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABG. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ABG shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. 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 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $263.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of ABG traded up $8.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $257.32. 116,579 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 203,603. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock's 50-day moving average is $231.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.38. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.68 and a 12 month high of $312.56. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.96.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.21 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share 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.