Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 3,864 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 56.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,864 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1,570.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $5,639,000. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 103.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 18,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,390,000 after buying an additional 9,586 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,842,000 after buying an additional 152,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at $3,336,000.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, Director B. Christopher Disantis bought 157 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total value of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ABG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $250.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $231.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.01 and a 12-month high of $263.38. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.49.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.39 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

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.