Deutsche Bank AG Lowers Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.6%, owning approximately 0.09% of the company after selling 1,424 shares.
• Brokerages have set varying price targets for Asbury Automotive Group, with Bank of America increasing theirs from $325.00 to $335.00 and Morgan Stanley raising theirs from $225.00 to $230.00.
• Asbury Automotive Group reported $7.43 earnings per share in its recent quarterly earnings, exceeding the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61.

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,284 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,424 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.09% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $3,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 801.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 631 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Stephens upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 4.8%

NYSE ABG traded up $11.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $251.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 101,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,176. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $312.56. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $239.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.11.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.61. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 6,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,305.50. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Asbury Automotive Group 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.