American Century Companies Inc. Purchases Shares of 37,827 Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 37,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,354,000. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Asbury Automotive Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $262,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,037,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,111,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG stock opened at $256.38 on Thursday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.68 and a 52-week high of $312.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $241.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.88.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.61. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.40 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Cfra set a $225.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total transaction of $101,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,347,048. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total value of $286,690.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,853,480.42. This trade represents a 9.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,157 shares of company stock valued at $541,013. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

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.