Creative Planning Acquires 2,236 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,929 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 100.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $155,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $162,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth about $190,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth about $194,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ABG shares. Stephens started coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $237.75.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG opened at $223.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $230.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.18. 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 earnings results 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). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Asbury Automotive Group news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction of $1,884,687.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,211,473.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.