Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Stock Position Increased by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,028 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 1.12% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $53,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.8% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ABG shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $214.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.93 and a 200-day moving average of $238.73. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $201.68 and a one year high of $274.50.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.70 by ($0.03). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 2.73%.The company had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE:ABG) is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.