Texas Permanent School Fund Reduces Holdings in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)

Texas Permanent School Fund lowered its position in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR – Get Rating) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,018 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund’s holdings in Avis Budget Group were worth $2,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAR. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the first quarter valued at $270,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 8.1% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 26,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 246.2% in the first quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 6,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after acquiring an additional 4,754 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 6.5% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in Avis Budget Group in the first quarter valued at $1,369,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CAR shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Avis Budget Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $175.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $240.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $261.00 to $239.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.00.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Avis Budget Group stock opened at $161.41 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 2.31. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a one year low of $131.83 and a one year high of $251.26.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $7.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $4.38. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 21.02% and a negative return on equity of 448.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 31.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avis Budget Group

In other news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.30, for a total transaction of $200,728.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 628 shares in the company, valued at $142,116.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Edward P. Linnen sold 7,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.58, for a total value of $1,770,834.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,075,573.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lynn Krominga sold 887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.30, for a total transaction of $200,728.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,116.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 37.30% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Profile

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Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the Americas and International segments. The Americas segment includes the company’s brands to third parties for vehicle rentals and ancillary products and services in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.