ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Buys New Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,000. Asbury Automotive Group accounts for approximately 1.6% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 48,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,911,000 after acquiring an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 102,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,947,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 48,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,992,000 after buying an additional 19,432 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of ABG traded up $5.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $213.75. The stock had a trading volume of 201,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,569. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $178.40 and a 1 year high of $256.39. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $217.00 and its 200 day moving average is $213.12.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $7.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.76 by ($0.55). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 30.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Craig Hallum downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

Insider Activity

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

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.