market folly

Ricky Sandler's hedge fund firm Eminence Capital recently filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Asbury Automotive Group (ABG).  Per the filing, Eminence has revealed a 5.5% ownership stake in ABG with 1,718,704 shares.

This is a brand new position for the hedge fund and the 13G was required due to portfolio activity on April 19th. 

Per Google Finance, Asbury Automotive Group is "an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; vehicle maintenance; replacement parts and collision repair services; new and used vehicle financing, and aftermarket products, such as insurance, warranty and service contracts."

This most likely isn't Eminence's only play in the space.  In their 13F filing which detailed positions as of the end of 2012, their second largest disclosed stake was in Advance Auto Parts (AAP).  We won't find out if they still own the position until the middle of May when the next batch of 13F filings are released.  But given the size of the investment and the fact that they over doubled their stake in AAP during the fourth quarter, it seems somewhat likely that they still retain a position.

For more on this hedge fund, we've detailed some of Eminence's previous activity here.