Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Buys 251 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 12.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,304 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AN. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in AutoNation by 54.1% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 51,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,568,000 after purchasing an additional 18,157 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter worth approximately $1,484,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in AutoNation in the second quarter valued at approximately $838,000. BOKF NA boosted its stake in AutoNation by 39.1% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 53,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,808,000 after acquiring an additional 15,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in AutoNation in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,083,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens started coverage on AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AutoNation from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.38.

AutoNation Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $155.83 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.81 and a 12 month high of $197.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.85.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The company reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.73 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.50%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 39,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.43, for a total value of $7,189,355.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,786,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,492,393.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 39,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.43, for a total transaction of $7,189,355.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,786,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,492,393.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,441,036.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,256 shares of company stock valued at $17,641,954 in the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.