M&T Bank Corp Sells 254 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,471 shares of the company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 62.1% in the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter valued at approximately $513,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.4% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in AutoNation by 476.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 84,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,881,000 after purchasing an additional 69,897 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in AutoNation by 1.8% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upgraded AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.88.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AN opened at $214.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $148.33 and a one year high of $217.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.08% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.