KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 300 Shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. $CAR

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Avis Budget Group were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CAR. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the first quarter valued at about $221,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 39,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the first quarter valued at about $274,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 7.8% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 199.5% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 39,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after buying an additional 26,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

CAR opened at $150.39 on Friday. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.03 and a one year high of $212.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 2.03.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($1.92). The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.02 billion. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bernardo Hees sold 402,200 shares of Avis Budget Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $62,980,498.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 116,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,246,023.39. The trade was a 77.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward P. Linnen sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.83, for a total transaction of $1,568,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,416,699.45. This represents a 19.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 52.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAR has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Avis Budget Group from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Avis Budget Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $105.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $113.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avis Budget Group currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $144.00.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.