KBC Group NV Lowers Stock Holdings in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)

KBC Group NV decreased its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Free Report) by 97.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 903 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 30,025 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Avis Budget Group were worth $69,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAR. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 106.9% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 478 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 681 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 736 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 936 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CAR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.00.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of Avis Budget Group stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $177.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,133,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 990,702. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $128.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.94. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.03 and a one year high of $189.98. The stock has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.82 and a beta of 2.19.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($14.35) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($5.72) by ($8.63). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($3.21) earnings per share. Avis Budget Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.