BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in The Advisory Board Company (NASDAQ:ABCO) by 72,455.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,545,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,541,744 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc.’s holdings in The Advisory Board were worth $119,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Advisory Board during the first quarter worth $109,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in The Advisory Board during the first quarter worth $158,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in The Advisory Board during the first quarter worth $159,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in The Advisory Board during the first quarter worth $166,000. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Advisory Board during the fourth quarter worth $217,000.
Shares of The Advisory Board Company (ABCO) opened at 57.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.84. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 1.31. The Advisory Board Company has a 52 week low of $24.85 and a 52 week high of $59.50.
The Advisory Board (NASDAQ:ABCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The business services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $194.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.43 million. The Advisory Board had a return on equity of 14.48% and a net margin of 12.78%. The Advisory Board’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Advisory Board Company will post $1.97 EPS for the current year.
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target (up previously from $57.00) on shares of The Advisory Board in a research report on Sunday, July 9th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded The Advisory Board from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on The Advisory Board from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. TheStreet downgraded The Advisory Board from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up previously from $48.00) on shares of The Advisory Board in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The Advisory Board has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.33.
The Advisory Board Company Profile
The Advisory Board Company is a provider of software and solutions to the healthcare and higher education industries. The Company offers subscription-based membership programs, software and data-enabled services. All of its programs are rooted in best practices and extends across four areas, including Best practices research, Technology, Data-enabled services and Consulting services.
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