Alberta Investment Management Corp Takes Position in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)

Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 37,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,999,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,354,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $293,825,000 after purchasing an additional 129,805 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 672,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,880,000 after buying an additional 16,221 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 592,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,883,000 after buying an additional 2,561 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 19,203.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 481,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $421,350,000 after acquiring an additional 478,552 shares during the period. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP raised its position in Avis Budget Group by 24.5% in the third quarter. JAT Capital Mgmt LP now owns 398,170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,876,000 after acquiring an additional 78,383 shares in the last quarter. 96.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on CAR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Avis Budget Group from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avis Budget Group

In related news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 1,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $133,475.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,250. This represents a 41.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 52.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avis Budget Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAR opened at $94.14 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -1.82 and a beta of 2.26. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.73 and a 12-month high of $132.25.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.27. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 32.07% and a negative net margin of 15.45%. On average, analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avis Budget Group Profile

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.