AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 1.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 229,350 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,300 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $44,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AN. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in AutoNation in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AutoNation by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total transaction of $512,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,348.96. The trade was a 63.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.18.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $208.28 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.62 and a 1-year high of $228.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $192.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $6.65 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.68 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

About AutoNation

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.