Select Equity Group L.P. Cuts Stake in CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG)

Select Equity Group L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG - Free Report) by 61.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 442,284 shares of the company's stock after selling 704,903 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 0.43% of CarGurus worth $16,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in CarGurus by 198.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 800 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in CarGurus by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in CarGurus by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in CarGurus during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CarGurus during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CARG. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of CarGurus from $43.00 to $38.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CarGurus presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.95.

CarGurus Price Performance

CARG traded up $0.16 on Thursday, reaching $31.72. 255,064 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 871,994. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 176.18, 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $28.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.78.

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

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.