SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 5,475 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 85.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 927 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,475 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AutoNation by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,820,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,012,000 after acquiring an additional 123,772 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 29.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,505,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,880,000 after buying an additional 338,288 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 6.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,186,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,415,000 after buying an additional 70,224 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,154,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,586,000 after buying an additional 32,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 4.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 908,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,466,000 after buying an additional 36,620 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.67, for a total transaction of $549,438.57. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $925,259.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.67, for a total transaction of $549,438.57. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $925,259.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $54,456,730.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,278,664 shares in the company, valued at $612,362,391.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 501,776 shares of company stock valued at $73,818,692 over the last three months. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.25.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $154.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.81 and a 1-year high of $182.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $152.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Profile

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.