Teacher Retirement System of Texas Cuts Stock Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,651 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $1,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 13.7% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,279,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 106,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,619,000 after buying an additional 5,468 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter worth $6,037,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 68.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,573,000 after acquiring an additional 8,429 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $234.86 on Tuesday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $312.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.63. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.37. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 3.15%.The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total value of $286,690.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,267 shares in the company, valued at $2,853,480.42. This trade represents a 9.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total transaction of $204,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,488,672.64. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,957 shares of company stock worth $745,501 over the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ABG. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Cfra set a $225.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.67.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.