Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,677 Shares of Cars.com Inc. $CARS

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,380 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,677 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Cars.com were worth $196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Cars.com by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,172,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,984,000 after purchasing an additional 55,143 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 923,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,406,000 after buying an additional 88,463 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Cars.com by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 804,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,944,000 after purchasing an additional 120,331 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cars.com during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,908,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cars.com by 109.7% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 412,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,646,000 after purchasing an additional 215,651 shares during the period. 89.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Cars.com from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Cars.com in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cars.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cars.com

In related news, insider Matthew B. Crawford sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total transaction of $176,550.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 98,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,885.97. This represents a 13.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Cars.com Price Performance

Shares of Cars.com stock opened at $12.2370 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Cars.com Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.56 and a 12 month high of $20.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.24 and a 200 day moving average of $12.31. The firm has a market cap of $751.84 million, a PE ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 1.76.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). Cars.com had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $178.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cars.com

Cars.com Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers.