Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,948 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,468 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.54% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $23,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 858 shares of the company's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth $197,000.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total transaction of $101,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,347,048. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total value of $204,488.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,488,672.64. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,957 shares of company stock valued at $745,501 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

ABG traded down $8.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $244.49. 35,377 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 196,899. The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $243.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.82. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.40 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens raised Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $249.00.

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.