Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Invests $1.33 Million in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,327,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth approximately $445,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 38.7% during the second quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 14,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,439,000 after buying an additional 4,025 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 9.5% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth approximately $250,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.8% in the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 8,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total transaction of $152,562.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,305.50. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total value of $204,488.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,488,672.64. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,957 shares of company stock worth $745,501 over the last quarter. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $235.03 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $201.68 and a one year high of $312.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $246.11 and a 200-day moving average of $238.36. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.37. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 3.15%.The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts, and collision repair services.