South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 19,432 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

South Dakota Investment Council boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 66.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,858 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,432 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned about 0.24% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $10,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. CWM LLC lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 94.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 161 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 93.8% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 186 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Ziegler Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 10.3% in the third quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 3,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Voss Capital LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.8% in the third quarter. Voss Capital LLC now owns 179,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,331,000 after buying an additional 9,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 35.4% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Asbury Automotive Group stock traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $221.59. The company had a trading volume of 193,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,952. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $178.40 and a 1 year high of $256.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $216.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.17.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $7.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.74 by ($0.62). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 21.68%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 31.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 3,955 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.00, for a total transaction of $826,595.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,734,700. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Craig Hallum cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 8th.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.