Eminence Capital LP Sells 85,480 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Eminence Capital LP cut its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,338 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,480 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $25,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth about $42,748,000. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 696.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 45,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,787,000 after acquiring an additional 39,515 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 26,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,049,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 120,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,056,000 after acquiring an additional 37,252 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on AN shares. Stephens started coverage on AutoNation in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AutoNation from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total value of $10,361,568.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $740,108,361.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 216,959 shares of company stock valued at $39,346,744 over the last 90 days. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN opened at $174.90 on Thursday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.81 and a 52-week high of $197.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 8.29, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.44.

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). The business had revenue of $6.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.50% and a net margin of 2.93%. AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Company 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.