Bank of America Corp DE Sells 3,430 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,361 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,430 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.68% of AutoNation worth $45,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company's stock worth $309,312,000 after acquiring an additional 203,335 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock worth $187,662,000 after acquiring an additional 426,882 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company's stock worth $144,682,000 after acquiring an additional 160,794 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 422.7% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 575,000 shares of the company's stock worth $97,658,000 after acquiring an additional 465,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 435,363 shares of the company's stock worth $73,965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AN shares. Citigroup upgraded AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens upped their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.75.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE AN traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $188.13. 13,970 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 456,086. The business's 50-day moving average is $170.45 and its 200-day moving average is $174.88. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $198.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current 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.