Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 114,826 Shares of Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Cars.com Inc. by 29.5%, owning 274,636 shares valued at approximately $3.1 million after selling 114,826 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Barclays PLC, have increased their holdings in Cars.com, reflecting a significant institutional ownership of 89.15%.
• Cars.com recently reported earnings of $0.41 per share, missing expectations, with revenue of $178.74 million for the quarter, which was slightly lower than analyst projections.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 29.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,636 shares of the company's stock after selling 114,826 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.43% of Cars.com worth $3,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 184.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,476 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 624.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cars.com by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 4th quarter worth about $132,000. 89.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In other news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 98,461 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,885.97. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CARS has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Cars.com from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cars.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $17.30.

Cars.com Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:CARS traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $13.08. 609,157 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,286. The company has a market capitalization of $803.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Cars.com Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.56 and a 12 month high of $20.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $12.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.05.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). Cars.com had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 5.71%.The company had revenue of $178.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers.