Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,617 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,767 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $2,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG opened at $220.40 on Monday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.01 and a fifty-two week high of $263.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $198.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.19. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.80, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.62 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.82 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director B. Christopher Disantis acquired 157 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ABG. Weiss Ratings cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.12.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.