Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Increases Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 1,056.7%, acquiring an additional 79,256 shares, bringing its total ownership to 86,756 shares valued at approximately $19.16 million.
• Asbury Automotive's stock price opened at $254.92, with analysts having varied price target adjustments, including a decrease to $215.00 from JPMorgan and an upgrade to $277.00 from Stephens.
• Asbury Automotive reported earnings of $7.43 per share for the last quarter, outperforming estimates, but its revenue of $4.37 billion lagged behind projections.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 1,056.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,756 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 79,256 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.44% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $19,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 30,639.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 129,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,790,000 after purchasing an additional 128,991 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 107,317 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth $17,922,000. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 224,623 shares of the company's stock worth $49,606,000 after purchasing an additional 75,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voss Capital LP boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.7% in the first quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 169,111 shares of the company's stock worth $37,346,000 after buying an additional 51,411 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 6,855 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,305.50. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total transaction of $101,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,347,048. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,157 shares of company stock valued at $541,013. Insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of ABG stock traded down $6.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $251.46. 160,985 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 174,226. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $241.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.30. 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 $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.87.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.40 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.