Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,202 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,872 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.09% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $4,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 120.5% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 198,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,724,000 after acquiring an additional 108,595 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $12,855,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,207,000. Kensico Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 73.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kensico Capital Management Corp now owns 103,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,697,000 after acquiring an additional 43,700 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp Et Al increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 12,319.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 24,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,714,000 after acquiring an additional 24,638 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of ABG stock opened at $213.75 on Monday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $178.40 and a 1-year high of $256.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $217.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 1.19.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $7.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.76 by ($0.55). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 20.12% and a net margin of 3.68%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 30.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABG. Craig Hallum downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 3,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.00, for a total transaction of $826,595.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,700. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.