Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 28,297 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 28,297 shares and leaving it with 346,280 shares valued at about $80.5 million.
• Asbury Automotive Group reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.37 versus the $5.62 estimate and revenue of $4.11 billion versus $4.37 billion expected. Revenue also declined 0.9% year over year.
• Analysts are cautious on the stock: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $238, while recent firms trimmed targets and mixed ratings ranged from Buy to Sell.

Madison Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 346,280 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,297 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC owned 1.78% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $80,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 3,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.7%

Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $194.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.94. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.61 and a fifty-two week high of $274.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $199.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.07.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.82 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABG shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $277.00 to $254.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $202.30 per share, for a total transaction of $101,150.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,420. The trade was a 10.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc NYSE: ABG is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.

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