Atria Investments Inc Invests $507,000 in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AN. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 90.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 498.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 407 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 212.2% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 39,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.43, for a total value of $7,189,355.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,786,144 shares in the company, valued at $694,492,393.92. This represents a 1.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lowered their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.00.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AN opened at $164.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.35 and a 12 month high of $197.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.21.

AutoNation Company 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.