Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,712 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 3,729.5% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 505,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 492,074 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,505,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,880,000 after acquiring an additional 338,288 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,990,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,300,000 after acquiring an additional 181,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 211.1% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 202,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,731,000 after acquiring an additional 137,431 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $54,456,730.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,278,664 shares in the company, valued at $612,362,391.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $54,456,730.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,278,664 shares in the company, valued at $612,362,391.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 3,133 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total transaction of $477,093.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,657.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 501,776 shares of company stock worth $73,818,692 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $154.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.80, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $182.08. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.96.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.37 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.