Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Shares Sold by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lowered its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,382 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.22% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $10,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,056,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,818,000 after purchasing an additional 69,975 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP grew its position in shares of 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 197,765 shares of the company's stock worth $45,065,000 after acquiring an additional 7,754 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 366.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 189,586 shares of the company's stock worth $45,233,000 after acquiring an additional 148,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at $26,573,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of ABG stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $260.65. The company had a trading volume of 66,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,006. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $240.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.78. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $195.09 and a 52-week high of $277.13.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABG. StockNews.com upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $256.20.

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.