Northern Trust Corp Acquires 49,511 Shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 942,535 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 49,511 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.91% of CarGurus worth $34,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARG. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in CarGurus by 198.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CarGurus by 82.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of CarGurus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CarGurus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CarGurus Stock Performance

CARG traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.59. The company had a trading volume of 200,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,470. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 181.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.45. CarGurus, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.65 and a twelve month high of $41.33. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $28.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.76.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.04. CarGurus had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 27.14%. The firm had revenue of $225.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $226.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CarGurus, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CarGurus

In other news, COO Samuel Zales sold 10,000 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.84, for a total transaction of $268,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 503,382 shares in the company, valued at $13,510,772.88. The trade was a 1.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 1,824 shares of CarGurus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.73, for a total transaction of $48,755.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,469,286.70. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,824 shares of company stock worth $907,856 in the last quarter. 16.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CarGurus from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JMP Securities dropped their price target on shares of CarGurus from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.95.

CarGurus Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The company provides an online automotive marketplace where customers can search for new and used car listings from its dealers and sell their car to dealers and other consumers; and paid listings subscriptions for enhanced access to its marketplace that connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers.