Madison Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Madison Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,942 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $91,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 11.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,561,000 after acquiring an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth $265,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 51,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ABG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $228.77 on Wednesday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $306.46. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.91.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 2.73%.Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.