South Dakota Investment Council Has $578,000 Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 89.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,379 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 104.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 466.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABG. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America began coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:ABG opened at $205.21 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $197.51 and a one year high of $274.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.67.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share 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.