T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 39.9%, now owning 163,492 shares worth approximately $36.1 million.
• Asbury Automotive Group's recent earnings report showed a profit of $7.43 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, although revenue of $4.37 billion slightly fell short of estimates.
• Wall Street analysts' ratings for Asbury Automotive Group vary, with two analysts recommending a "Buy" and others offering "Hold" and "Sell" ratings; the average target price is set at $254.00.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 39.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 163,492 shares of the company's stock after selling 108,636 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.83% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $36,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ABG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the company's stock worth $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at $247,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,802 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 9,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total transaction of $286,690.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,267 shares in the company, valued at $2,853,480.42. The trade was a 9.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total value of $101,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,347,048. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,157 shares of company stock worth $541,013 over the last ninety days. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Asbury Automotive Group stock traded down $2.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $255.18. 15,348 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,414. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.68 and a 52-week high of $312.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $241.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.87.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABG. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Stephens upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.