California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 4,449 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 25.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 22,051 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $4,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABG. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.71.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $214.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $209.13 and a 200 day moving average of $208.52. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.71. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.01 and a 12-month high of $263.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director B. Christopher Disantis acquired 157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,166,784. This trade represents a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,902.52. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.