AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Holdings Cut by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,237 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.23% of AutoNation worth $14,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 13.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.8% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 47.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 33.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,577,000 after purchasing an additional 6,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AN shares. Stephens raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $146.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, Director George Lawrence Mikan III sold 16,771 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.59, for a total value of $2,676,483.89. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,804 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,340.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director George Lawrence Mikan III sold 16,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.59, for a total value of $2,676,483.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,841,340.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.19, for a total transaction of $7,259,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,093,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $739,486,354.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 272,115 shares of company stock worth $43,564,293. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoNation Trading Up 2.3 %

AutoNation stock opened at $160.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 1.14. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.92 and a 1 year high of $182.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.46.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 21st. The company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.78 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 58.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 22.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.