First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR – Get Rating) by 82.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,719 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Avis Budget Group were worth $6,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 160.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 352 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the third quarter valued at about $64,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 61.4% in the third quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 439 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the second quarter valued at about $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, Susquehanna Bancshares initiated coverage on shares of Avis Budget Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Joseph A. Ferraro sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.96, for a total value of $2,959,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,500,352.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Joseph A. Ferraro sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.96, for a total value of $2,959,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,500,352.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Izilda P. Martins sold 4,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.21, for a total transaction of $772,771.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,099,465.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,337 shares of company stock valued at $5,703,694. Insiders own 37.30% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of CAR stock opened at $188.47 on Tuesday. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a one year low of $131.83 and a one year high of $327.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $206.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 2.34.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The business services provider reported $10.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.85 by $3.61. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 23.05% and a negative return on equity of 395.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.08 earnings per share. Avis Budget Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 28.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avis Budget Group Company Profile

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Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the Americas and International segments. The Americas segment includes the company’s brands to third parties for vehicle rentals and ancillary products and services in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.