Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,882 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,988 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.80% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $34,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,108,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,322,000 after purchasing an additional 9,688 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 787,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,453,000 after buying an additional 107,317 shares during the last quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 707,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,035,000 after buying an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,079,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 239,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,086,000 after purchasing an additional 19,923 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $259.33.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE ABG traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $229.67. The stock had a trading volume of 175,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.25. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $312.56. The business's 50-day moving average price is $239.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share 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.