Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its AutoNation stake by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,923 shares and leaving it with 53,529 shares worth about $11.1 million.
• Institutional interest in AutoNation remains strong overall, with several hedge funds increasing positions and 94.62% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• AutoNation reported slightly weaker-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $4.69 versus $4.71 expected and revenue of $6.55 billion versus $6.65 billion expected, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus target of $246.90.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,529 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,923 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.15% of AutoNation worth $11,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 192,434.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company's stock worth $913,557,000 after buying an additional 4,422,133 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 260.2% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 333,975 shares of the company's stock worth $73,064,000 after buying an additional 241,265 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 51.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company's stock worth $125,439,000 after buying an additional 215,577 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 38.3% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 548,677 shares of the company's stock worth $120,034,000 after buying an additional 151,966 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 11.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company's stock worth $198,460,000 after buying an additional 91,232 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AN. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AutoNation from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $207.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $246.90.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $190.53 on Thursday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.62 and a 12-month high of $228.92. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $196.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.24.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.65 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 2.47%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total value of $512,275.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at $298,348.96. This represents a 63.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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