Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Holdings in Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 409,537 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,552 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.62% of Cars.com worth $7,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Cars.com by 599.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 782,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,051,000 after purchasing an additional 670,982 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Cars.com by 94.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 252,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,788,000 after purchasing an additional 122,665 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Cars.com by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,134,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,292,000 after purchasing an additional 89,194 shares in the last quarter. Capula Management Ltd purchased a new position in Cars.com in the third quarter worth about $794,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cars.com in the third quarter worth approximately $763,000. Institutional investors own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Douglas Neal Miller sold 1,823 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $33,725.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 181,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,359,526. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Cars.com news, CEO Thomas Alex Vetter sold 17,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $335,654.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 568,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,808,815. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Douglas Neal Miller sold 1,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $33,725.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 181,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,359,526. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,488 shares of company stock valued at $654,361. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Cars.com in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Cars.com Stock Performance

Shares of CARS stock opened at $17.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.85. Cars.com Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.82 and a 52 week high of $22.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.07). Cars.com had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 25.78%. The company had revenue of $179.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. Cars.com’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cars.com Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a digital automotive marketplace that connects local car dealers to consumers in the United States. The company offers a suite of digital solutions that creates connections between individuals researching cars or looking to purchase a car with car dealerships and automotive original equipment manufacturers.