SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 85.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 927 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,475 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,820,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,012,000 after buying an additional 123,772 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 29.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,505,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,880,000 after buying an additional 338,288 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 6.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,186,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,415,000 after acquiring an additional 70,224 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,154,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,586,000 after acquiring an additional 32,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 4.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 908,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36,620 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,267,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 501,776 shares of company stock valued at $73,818,692 in the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AN stock opened at $154.45 on Wednesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.81 and a 12 month high of $182.08. The stock has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $152.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.17. The firm 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%. AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AN. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.