Vident Advisory LLC Purchases 1,244 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 129.3%, owning a total of 2,206 shares valued at $487,000 after purchasing 1,244 additional shares.
• Asbury Automotive Group reported $7.43 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $6.82, while revenue was up 3.0% year-over-year at $4.37 billion.
• Equity analysts have set a range of price targets for Asbury Automotive Group, with Bank of America raising its target price to $335.00 and Stephens moving it to $277.00, reflecting overall positive sentiment about the stock.

Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 129.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,206 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.1% in the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth about $1,989,000. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 713,158 shares of the company's stock worth $157,494,000 after acquiring an additional 5,284 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth about $6,441,000. Finally, Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,815,000.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total value of $101,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,347,048. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total value of $204,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold 2,957 shares of company stock valued at $745,501 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $257.07 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $243.05 and a 200 day moving average of $237.30. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $312.56.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Cfra set a $225.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.