Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 18,389 Shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 243,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,389 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.23% of CarGurus worth $8,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of CarGurus by 198.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in CarGurus by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of CarGurus by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of CarGurus in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of CarGurus by 155.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Zachary Emerson Hallowell sold 2,203 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total transaction of $83,978.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,271.96. This represents a 1.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Samuel Zales sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $767,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 400,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,344,959. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,203 shares of company stock valued at $1,158,978. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CarGurus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CARG opened at $25.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.95, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.46. CarGurus, Inc. has a one year low of $21.18 and a one year high of $41.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.21.

CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.06). CarGurus had a return on equity of 27.14% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $228.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $231.72 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that CarGurus, Inc. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CARG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of CarGurus in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered CarGurus from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on CarGurus from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of CarGurus in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.75.

CarGurus Profile

CarGurus, Inc operates an online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, U.S. Marketplace and Digital Wholesale. The company provides an online automotive marketplace where customers can search for new and used car listings from its dealers and sell their car to dealers and other consumers; and paid listings subscriptions for enhanced access to its marketplace that connects dealers to a large audience of informed and engaged consumers.