Private Management Group Inc. Reduces Stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,910 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,014 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of AutoNation worth $25,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners bought a new stake in AutoNation in the first quarter worth approximately $170,270,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,832,000. Lodge Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,141,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AutoNation during the third quarter worth $131,250,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 4,275.6% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 50,107 shares of the company's stock worth $7,986,000 after purchasing an additional 51,307 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AutoNation from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AutoNation from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.43.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AN stock traded up $0.78 on Friday, hitting $156.25. The stock had a trading volume of 452,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,913. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $168.64 and a 200 day moving average of $167.78. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.32 and a 12-month high of $197.18. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 32.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.29 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 39,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.43, for a total transaction of $7,189,355.42. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 39,194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.43, for a total value of $7,189,355.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,786,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $694,492,393.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at $696,441,036.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.