Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 631.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,036 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,074 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $1,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,544,000. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,055,000 after buying an additional 265,539 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 122.0% in the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 199,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,413,000 after buying an additional 109,896 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,561,000 after buying an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Group LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $69,087,000 after acquiring an additional 44,500 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.1%

Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $234.52 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.68 and a 12 month high of $309.99. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 0.82.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.35 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $251.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.43.

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.