Abacus Planning Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,880 AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoNation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $249,000. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 5,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 254,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,221,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in AutoNation by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,116,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,774,000 after buying an additional 414,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new position in AutoNation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP C Coleman Edmunds sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $721,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,094 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP C Coleman Edmunds sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $721,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,094 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George Lawrence Mikan III sold 16,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.59, for a total value of $2,676,483.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,841,340.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 132,771 shares of company stock worth $22,839,759. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $161.00 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $94.92 and a one year high of $182.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.59 and a 200-day moving average of $146.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.38. AutoNation had a return on equity of 58.35% and a net margin of 4.50%. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 22.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on AutoNation from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AutoNation from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Guggenheim cut their target price on AutoNation from $184.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Stephens upped their target price on AutoNation from $146.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.57.

AutoNation 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.