Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 16,453 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN – Get Rating) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,453 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $14,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 9.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 6,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. TFO TDC LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.31% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $137.37 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a PE ratio of 5.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.25. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.92 and a 12 month high of $158.30.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AutoNation from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.14.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.64, for a total transaction of $6,682,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,332,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $712,656,014.20. 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 50,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.64, for a total value of $6,682,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,332,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $712,656,014.20. 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 AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.47, for a total value of $4,201,235.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,199,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,930,016.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 198,754 shares of company stock worth $26,925,568 in the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.