Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 4,900 Avis Budget Group, Inc. $CAR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $715,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,964,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $380,444,000 after acquiring an additional 804,814 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Avis Budget Group by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 539,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,215,000 after purchasing an additional 154,994 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 287.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 8,304 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,951,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,290,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,142,000 after purchasing an additional 409,761 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $160.00 target price on shares of Avis Budget Group and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Avis Budget Group from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $112.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $131.50.

Avis Budget Group Trading Up 0.2%

CAR stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $158.70. 12,353 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,737,110. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of -8.33 and a beta of 1.91. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.96 and a 1-year high of $847.70.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported ($8.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($6.82) by ($1.19). The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. The company’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($14.35) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Pentwater Capital Management L sold 3,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.74, for a total value of $1,468,462.78. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,177,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,710,140,854. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Edward P. Linnen sold 9,483 shares of Avis Budget Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.32, for a total transaction of $1,728,940.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,915,762.24. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,299 shares of company stock valued at $3,836,012. 50.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc operates as a leading global provider of vehicle rental and mobility solutions. Through its two core brands, Avis® and Budget®, the company offers a broad range of rental options including daily, weekly and monthly car rentals for leisure and business travelers. In addition to traditional airport and off-airport car rental services, Avis Budget Group delivers innovative mobility platforms such as car-sharing programs and connected fleet solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of corporate, government and individual customers.

The company’s roots trace back to Avis Rent a Car, founded in 1946, and Budget Rent a Car, established in 1958.