American Century Companies Inc. Has $17.96 Million Stock Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 329.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,094 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,988 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.23% of AutoNation worth $17,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in AutoNation by 8.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,967,000 after purchasing an additional 9,656 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AN. Evercore raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.67.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN opened at $192.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.89. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $206.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.84.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.