DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Decreases Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lowered its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,100 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in AutoNation by 4.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 44,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,767,000 after buying an additional 1,983 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at approximately $919,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 69.6% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 11,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 4,748 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,525,000. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,329,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of AN stock opened at $152.36 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.90. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.81 and a 1-year high of $182.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted 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 company had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 48.76% and a net margin of 3.79%. AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total transaction of $1,669,866.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at $659,640,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at $672,013,960.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 501,776 shares of company stock worth $73,818,692. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI began coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.