Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 682 Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,319,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,771,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 894,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,261,000 after buying an additional 65,872 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 328,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,811,000 after buying an additional 70,089 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth about $67,417,000. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 278,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,101 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.7 %

ABG opened at $212.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $178.40 and a 12 month high of $277.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.86.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.95 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 27.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.25.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at $12,911,548.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at $453,211,473.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at $12,911,548.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.