Comerica Bank Purchases 9,586 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Comerica Bank boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 103.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,880 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,586 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $4,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Abrams Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,155,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,910,000 after purchasing an additional 46,952 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,104,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,906,000 after buying an additional 5,757 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 282,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,087,000 after buying an additional 44,500 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,561,000 after buying an additional 91,767 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 218,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,297,000 after buying an additional 6,562 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ABG. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens dropped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $277.00 to $254.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE:ABG opened at $202.66 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.61 and a 52 week high of $274.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.46%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $202.30 per share, for a total transaction of $101,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,420. This represents a 10.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.