Nuveen LLC Acquires Shares of 81,155 Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group, purchasing 81,155 shares valued at approximately $17.9 million, representing about 0.41% ownership as of its latest SEC filing.
• Asbury Automotive Group's stock received an upgrade from Wall Street Zen from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with analysts projecting a consensus price target of $254.00.
• The company recently reported $7.43 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $4.37 billion, which shows a 3.0% year-over-year increase.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 81,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,922,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.41% of Asbury Automotive Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 30,639.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 787,775 shares of the company's stock worth $191,453,000 after buying an additional 107,317 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 50.6% in the first quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 224,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,606,000 after purchasing an additional 75,500 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 10.1% in the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 373,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,444,000 after purchasing an additional 34,160 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,037,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABG. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $254.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total value of $152,562.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,305.50. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 0.2%

ABG traded down $0.49 on Monday, reaching $253.33. 24,486 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 201,580. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $201.68 and a one year high of $312.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.95. The company has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.40 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group 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.