Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 8,815 Avis Budget Group, Inc. $CAR

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. has acquired 8,815 shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc., valued at approximately $1.49 million, highlighting increased interest from institutional investors.
• Avis Budget Group reported an EPS of $0.10 for the latest quarter, missing estimates by $1.92, while revenue slightly exceeded expectations at $3.04 billion.
• After recent stock transactions, the company's director, Bernardo Hees, significantly reduced his ownership by 77.54%, selling over 402,200 shares for approximately $62.98 million.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,815 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 228 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 233.5% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 527 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 421.1% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 839 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 101.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 901 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of CAR opened at $159.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 2.03. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.03 and a 52-week high of $212.81. The business's 50 day moving average price is $161.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.98.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($1.92). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Research analysts predict that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avis Budget Group

In related news, Director Bernardo Hees sold 402,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $62,980,498.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 116,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,246,023.39. This represents a 77.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Edward P. Linnen sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.83, for a total value of $1,568,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,416,699.45. This represents a 19.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 52.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Avis Budget Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $113.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avis Budget Group presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $143.80.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CAR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.