Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its AutoNation position by 18.1% in the first quarter, selling 42,907 shares and retaining 194,018 shares worth approximately $37.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.62% of the company.
• AutoNation’s director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares for $198,000, while insiders retain a 1.40% ownership stake.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 10 Buy ratings and two Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $250. AutoNation also modestly beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $5.56 per share versus the $5.48 consensus.

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,018 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,907 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.58% of AutoNation worth $37,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in AutoNation by 33.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 306 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd bought a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This represents a 10.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AN. Argus lifted their target price on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded AutoNation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $250.00.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN stock opened at $208.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.71. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.62 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $199.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.12.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The company had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation 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.

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