Securian Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 31.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,300,000 after buying an additional 181,942 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 109,571 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 167,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,311,000 after purchasing an additional 96,797 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth $9,247,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 129.0% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 104,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,815,000 after purchasing an additional 58,850 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on AutoNation from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.88.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $167.35 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.81 and a twelve month high of $182.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.94, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.22.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. AutoNation had a return on equity of 42.44% and a net margin of 3.41%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, April 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at $8,197,224. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at $8,197,224. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 3,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.67, for a total value of $549,438.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,259.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,804 shares of company stock valued at $18,832,532. Corporate 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.