AutoNation (NYSE:AN) CAO Kimberly Dees Sells 2,500 Shares

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total transaction of $512,275.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,348.96. This trade represents a 63.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN opened at $205.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $196.34 and a 200 day moving average of $203.44. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.80 and a twelve month high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.65 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 31.45%. AutoNation’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AN. Stephens raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $280.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,784,000 after acquiring an additional 56,641 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 58,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,404,000 after acquiring an additional 5,572 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 306 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 26,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth $2,307,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.