Xponance Inc. Sells 1,153 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 24.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,475 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,153 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,605,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,910,000 after purchasing an additional 41,712 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in AutoNation in the 1st quarter valued at $170,270,000. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 781,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,607,000 after buying an additional 4,350 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 267,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,317,000 after buying an additional 4,720 shares during the period. Finally, Eminence Capital LP raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 261,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,338,000 after acquiring an additional 119,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at $685,794,659.43. 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 53,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,108,361.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 216,959 shares of company stock valued at $39,346,744. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AN shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on AutoNation in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.75.

AutoNation Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $178.83 on Tuesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $197.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $173.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.14.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.50%. The company had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.67 EPS for the current year.

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.