Bank of America Corp DE Sells 28,072 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Asbury Automotive Group stake by 21.8% in the first quarter, selling 28,072 shares and retaining 100,604 shares valued at approximately $19.7 million.
• Institutional interest was mixed: Norges Bank and Woodline Partners initiated positions, while Thrivent Financial and Goldman Sachs significantly increased their holdings. An Asbury senior vice president also sold 948 shares.
• Asbury reported quarterly EPS of $6.82, exceeding estimates of $6.31, while revenue of $4.38 billion fell short of expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $246.71, compared with a share price of $203.94.

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,604 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,072 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.54% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $19,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $77,963,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company's stock worth $68,842,000 after acquiring an additional 152,669 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,684,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,561,000 after purchasing an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $12,761,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,902.52. This represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ABG shares. UBS Group set a $250.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $242.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $246.71.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE ABG opened at $203.94 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $211.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.71. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.01 and a fifty-two week high of $263.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 2.83%.Asbury Automotive Group's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.43 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc NYSE: ABG is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.

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