Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 35,218 Shares of Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Cars.com by 0.5%, selling 35,218 shares and retaining approximately 11.15% ownership valued at $79.86 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Total institutional ownership of Cars.com stands at 89.15%, with several hedge funds, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Northern Trust, making notable adjustments to their holdings in recent months.
• Cars.com reported Q2 earnings on August 7, missing earnings per share estimates with $0.41, while their revenue was slightly lower than analysts' expectations at $178.74 million.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,085,789 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,218 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.15% of Cars.com worth $79,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Cars.com by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 55,974 shares of the company's stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Cars.com by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Cars.com by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Cars.com by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Cars.com by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 40,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Cars.com

In other news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of Cars.com stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $176,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,885.97. The trade was a 13.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.39% of the company's stock.

Cars.com Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE CARS traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.08. 609,157 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,286. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.08. The company has a market capitalization of $803.39 million, a P/E ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 1.76. Cars.com Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.56 and a 12 month high of $20.47.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CARS shares. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Cars.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.30.

Cars.com 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.