David W. Hult Sells 500 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Stock

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total value of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,911,548.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.7 %

ABG stock opened at $230.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.36. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $178.40 and a 1-year high of $277.13.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 20.12% and a net margin of 3.68%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.95 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 29.12 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,319,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,771,000 after purchasing an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,056,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,818,000 after buying an additional 69,975 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 498,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,603,000 after acquiring an additional 146,246 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth $67,417,000. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 278,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,101 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 10th.

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.