Pearl River Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN – Get Rating) by 14.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,016 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,736 shares during the period. Pearl River Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $2,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 13.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 33.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. 86.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity at AutoNation
In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 63,090 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total value of $7,410,551.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,003,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,216,684.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 125,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.82, for a total transaction of $13,102,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,878,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $616,225,040.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 63,090 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total value of $7,410,551.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,003,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,216,684.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 547,322 shares of company stock valued at $67,189,590. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have commented on AN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $125.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AutoNation from $169.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley downgraded AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $104.00 to $96.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut AutoNation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AutoNation from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.38.
AutoNation Stock Up 0.5 %
Shares of AutoNation stock traded up $0.69 on Monday, hitting $141.24. 290,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 772,024. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.92 and a 12-month high of $158.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.07. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 5.79, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.11.
AutoNation (NYSE:AN – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 17th. The company reported $6.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.89 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.52 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 62.12% and a net margin of 5.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 20.5 earnings per share for the current year.
AutoNation Company Profile
AutoNation, Inc engages in the provision of automotive products and services. It operates through the following segments: Domestic, Import, Premium Luxury, and Corporate & Other. The Domestic segment comprises retail automotive franchises that sell new vehicles manufactured by General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.
