Raymond James & Associates Has $7.24 Million Stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN – Get Rating) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,207 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in AutoNation were worth $7,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AN. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter valued at about $553,000. First Republic Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 6.7% during the third quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,988 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 7.4% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter valued at about $3,153,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 320.9% during the third quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 12,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 9,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.14.

AutoNation Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of AN stock opened at $133.17 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.92 and a 52-week high of $158.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.15. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.42, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 20th. The company reported $6.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.60 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.63 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 4.90% and a return on equity of 61.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, EVP C Coleman Edmunds sold 9,445 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total value of $1,323,338.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,904,655.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, EVP C Coleman Edmunds sold 9,445 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total value of $1,323,338.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,904,655.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 31,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.47, for a total transaction of $4,201,235.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,199,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,930,016.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 198,754 shares of company stock worth $26,925,568. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About AutoNation

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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.