Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned about 0.05% of Asbury Automotive Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 8.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 56.3% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after buying an additional 4,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.3% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 63,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,235,000 after acquiring an additional 4,367 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 3,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.00, for a total transaction of $826,595.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,734,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 0.6 %

ABG opened at $216.45 on Wednesday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $178.40 and a twelve month high of $256.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $216.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 1.18.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $7.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.74 by ($0.62). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 21.68%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.12 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 31.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Craig Hallum cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

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.