Focus Partners Wealth Invests $503,000 in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AutoNation by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,165 shares of the company's stock worth $55,566,000 after buying an additional 6,277 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 97.4% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 11,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,977,000 after buying an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research upgraded AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup upgraded AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.75.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $182.23. 423,290 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 459,321. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.53. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $198.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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.