Covestor Ltd Acquires 767 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 603.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 894 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $1,222,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 54.1% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 51,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,568,000 after purchasing an additional 18,157 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,484,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in AutoNation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,197,224. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.21, for a total transaction of $17,621,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,880,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,777,090.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,197,224. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,703 shares of company stock worth $23,384,790 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AutoNation stock traded up $1.00 on Wednesday, reaching $173.29. 73,876 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 430,703. The company has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.21. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.81 and a 52 week high of $182.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 42.44%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.05 earnings per share. AutoNation’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, April 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.43.

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.