Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Position 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 decreased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,284 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,424 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.09% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $3,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $262,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 13.7% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,279,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,037,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,111,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total transaction of $152,562.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,855 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,305.50. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

ABG stock traded up $13.24 on Friday, hitting $253.38. The company had a trading volume of 187,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,778. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $239.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.87. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $312.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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.