Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 82,072 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,585,551 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,072 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.60% of AutoNation worth $538,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $42,748,000. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 261,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,338,000 after purchasing an additional 119,866 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,491,000 after purchasing an additional 109,571 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 167,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,311,000 after purchasing an additional 96,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $9,247,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.25.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN opened at $158.55 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $165.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.26. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.81 and a 1-year high of $182.08. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, April 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $1,680,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at $8,197,224. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.