Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 1,939 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 10.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,939 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned about 0.08% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $3,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $67,417,000. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 328,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,811,000 after buying an additional 70,089 shares during the period. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 107.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 47,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,811,000 after buying an additional 24,603 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 127,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,690,000 after buying an additional 22,486 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 450.6% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 26,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,134,000 after buying an additional 21,290 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ABG shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,911,548.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE ABG opened at $221.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.16. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $178.40 and a 12-month high of $277.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $237.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.82.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). The business had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.95 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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.