Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 1,652 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,652 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,820,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,012,000 after buying an additional 123,772 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 29.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,505,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,880,000 after purchasing an additional 338,288 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 6.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,186,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,415,000 after purchasing an additional 70,224 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,154,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,586,000 after purchasing an additional 32,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 4.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 908,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,620 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.00.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $165.70 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.81 and a 52 week high of $182.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 19.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 77,284 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.58, for a total value of $11,019,152.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,303,175.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $54,456,730.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,278,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $612,362,391.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 77,284 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.58, for a total value of $11,019,152.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,659,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,303,175.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 579,060 shares of company stock worth $84,837,845. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.