Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) SVP Sells $237,265.44 in Stock

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,902.52. This represents a 7.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of ABG stock opened at $231.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $206.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.19. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.01 and a 52 week high of $263.38. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,977,000 after acquiring an additional 34,104 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 781,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,659,000 after purchasing an additional 9,535 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at $77,963,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,842,000 after purchasing an additional 152,669 shares during the period. Finally, Magnolia Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 288,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,279,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABG. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.57.

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.