AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Shares Sold by 180 Wealth Advisors LLC

180 Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 19.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,319 shares during the quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 1st quarter valued at about $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 raised its stake in AutoNation by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,116,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,774,000 after acquiring an additional 414,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth $219,000. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AN. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, July 24th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $184.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Stephens boosted their target price on AutoNation from $146.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AutoNation from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.57.

AutoNation Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE AN opened at $155.40 on Tuesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.92 and a 12 month high of $182.08. The company has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 21st. The company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 22.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.60, for a total value of $2,042,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,992,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,648,108.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Joseph T. Lower sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.61, for a total value of $1,506,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 26,075 shares in the company, valued at $3,927,155.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.60, for a total value of $2,042,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,992,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,648,108.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 132,771 shares of company stock valued at $22,839,759 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.