Nomura Holdings Inc. Sells 4,049 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Nomura Holdings Inc. reduced its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 53.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,472 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,049 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in AutoNation were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company's stock worth $309,312,000 after purchasing an additional 203,335 shares in the last quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company's stock worth $248,172,000 after purchasing an additional 488,904 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock worth $187,662,000 after purchasing an additional 426,882 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company's stock worth $144,682,000 after purchasing an additional 160,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 422.7% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 575,000 shares of the company's stock worth $97,658,000 after purchasing an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cfra Research upgraded AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens raised their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.75.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $187.17 on Wednesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $198.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation Company Profile

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.

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