AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Holdings Lowered by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN – Get Rating) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 531 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 6,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. TFO TDC LLC purchased a new stake in AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 86.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Down 2.1 %

AN stock opened at $133.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.92 and a 1 year high of $158.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 5.42, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The company reported $6.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.63 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 61.01% and a net margin of 4.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AN shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on AutoNation in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 31,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.47, for a total transaction of $4,201,235.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,199,146 shares in the company, valued at $693,930,016.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.64, for a total transaction of $6,682,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,332,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $712,656,014.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 31,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.47, for a total transaction of $4,201,235.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,199,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,930,016.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,754 shares of company stock worth $26,925,568 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About AutoNation

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AutoNation, Inc engages in the provision of automotive products and services. It operates through the following segments: Domestic, Import, Premium Luxury, and Corporate & Other. The Domestic segment comprises retail automotive franchises that sell new vehicles manufactured by General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.