Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 256,775 Shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) by 67.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 256,775 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.35% of Avis Budget Group worth $9,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAR. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 281.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 123,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,349,000 after buying an additional 90,851 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Avis Budget Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $246,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 106.9% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 478 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 53,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,087,000 after buying an additional 4,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 9,967.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 33,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after buying an additional 33,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Trading Down 2.6%

CAR opened at $121.91 on Friday. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.03 and a 1-year high of $129.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.46. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 2.11.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($14.35) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($5.72) by ($8.63). Avis Budget Group had a negative net margin of 15.45% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($3.21) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CAR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avis Budget Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.00.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.