South Dakota Investment Council Has $10.99 Million Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 66.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,858 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,432 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned 0.24% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $10,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 120.5% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 198,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,724,000 after buying an additional 108,595 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 193,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,533,000 after purchasing an additional 8,070 shares during the last quarter. Voss Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Voss Capital LLC now owns 179,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,331,000 after purchasing an additional 9,825 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 160,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,878,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kensico Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kensico Capital Management Corp now owns 103,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,697,000 after purchasing an additional 43,700 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 3,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.00, for a total transaction of $826,595.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,700. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Asbury Automotive Group stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $221.46. 83,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 163,504. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.17. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $178.40 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 1.18.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $7.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 31.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.