M&T Bank Corp Makes New $5.64 Million Investment in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp established a new position in Asbury Automotive Group by buying 24,252 shares in Q4 valued at about $5.64 million, representing roughly 0.12% ownership per its SEC filing.
• Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 500 shares at $202.30 on March 10, increasing his stake by 10.2%, while company insiders collectively own about 0.75% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and a $241.57 target; notable moves include JPMorgan cutting its price target to $235 and Bank of America initiating coverage with a Buy.

M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 24,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,639,000. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Asbury Automotive Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 3,130 shares of the company's stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 132 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 143 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, Director B. Christopher Disantis acquired 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $202.30 per share, for a total transaction of $101,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,420. This represents a 10.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABG. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $235.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Bank of America started coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Stephens decreased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $277.00 to $254.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on 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. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 0.6%

ABG opened at $203.21 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.61 and a twelve month high of $274.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $204.23 and a 200-day moving average of $225.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.80.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 2.73%.The firm had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.26 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.52 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.