The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stock Position in Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in shares of Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) by 10.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,141 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Avis Budget Group were worth $1,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in Avis Budget Group by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 690,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,147,000 after buying an additional 475,181 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in 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 worth $51,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,561 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,978,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 185,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,274,000 after acquiring an additional 17,666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CAR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Avis Budget Group from $145.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Northcoast Research downgraded Avis Budget Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays initiated coverage on Avis Budget Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avis Budget Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.75.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Shares of CAR opened at $100.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.59. Avis Budget Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.73 and a fifty-two week high of $204.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 2.20.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $6.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.55 by ($1.90). The business had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Avis Budget Group had a net margin of 3.34% and a negative return on equity of 101.41%. Avis Budget Group’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $16.78 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Avis Budget Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Avis Budget Group Profile

Avis Budget Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides car and truck rentals, car sharing, and ancillary products and services to businesses and consumers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It operates the Avis brand, that offers vehicle rental and other mobility solutions to the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry; and the Zipcar brand, a car sharing network, as well as the Budget brand, a supplier of vehicle rental and other mobility solutions focused primarily on more value-conscious customers comprising Budget car rental, and Budget Truck, a local, and one-way truck and cargo van rental businesses with a fleet of approximately 19,000 vehicles, which are rented through a network of dealer-operated and company-operated locations that serve the light commercial and consumer sectors in the continental United States.