Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 14,130 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its AutoNation position by 3.9%, selling 14,130 shares and leaving 348,943 shares worth about $76.34M, making AN its 21st-largest holding.
• Institutional activity remains heavy — Norges Bank opened a ~$62.6M position while Squarepoint, AQR and Invesco significantly increased stakes — and overall institutional ownership is 94.62%.
• Analysts are generally favorable: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $248.67, and several firms have recently raised price targets (Evercore to $300, Wells Fargo to $230, JPMorgan to $235).

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 348,943 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,130 shares during the period. AutoNation comprises 0.7% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.96% of AutoNation worth $76,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,613,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 316,923 shares of the company's stock worth $62,957,000 after acquiring an additional 217,774 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 51.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company's stock worth $125,439,000 after acquiring an additional 215,577 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,601,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,931 shares of the company's stock worth $162,085,000 after acquiring an additional 139,363 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Evercore raised their price objective on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AutoNation from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.67.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $193.34 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $207.13 and a 200-day moving average of $210.31.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.91 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.