First Trust Advisors LP Sells 7,099 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,319 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,099 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.31% of AutoNation worth $20,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth about $38,136,000. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,312,000 after acquiring an additional 203,335 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,682,000 after purchasing an additional 160,794 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth $13,239,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth $7,836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AN. Citigroup assumed coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $217.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.75.

AutoNation Stock Up 1.0 %

AN stock opened at $175.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $198.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.09 and a 200-day moving average of $172.74.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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