Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 153,445 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,141 shares of the company's stock after selling 153,445 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.18% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $8,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 801,391 shares of the company's stock worth $191,204,000 after buying an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 498,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,603,000 after buying an additional 146,246 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,573,000. GCM Grosvenor Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 250.8% during the second quarter. GCM Grosvenor Holdings LLC now owns 73,000 shares of the company's stock worth $16,635,000 after acquiring an additional 52,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at $154,270,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $255.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

ABG traded down $0.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $244.72. The stock had a trading volume of 291,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $251.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.86. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $195.09 and a one year high of $277.13. The firm has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.19.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.58 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.