AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 390 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AN. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter worth about $65,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 101.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $54,456,730.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,278,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $612,362,391.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 501,776 shares of company stock valued at $73,818,692. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AN. Bank of America cut their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.25.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $154.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.81 and a fifty-two week high of $182.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $152.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.01.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 48.76% and a net margin of 3.79%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Profile

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.