Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Stock Position Lowered by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,566 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,855 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.51% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $18,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,977,000 after acquiring an additional 34,104 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 781,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,659,000 after purchasing an additional 9,535 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,963,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,842,000 after purchasing an additional 152,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 288,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,279,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director B. Christopher Disantis bought 157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,166,784. This trade represents a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE ABG opened at $216.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $208.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.01 and a twelve month high of $263.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.71.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 2.83%.The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.29.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE:ABG) is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.