AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Stock Position Lessened by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,319 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,099 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.31% of AutoNation worth $20,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,312,000 after purchasing an additional 203,335 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company's stock worth $144,682,000 after acquiring an additional 160,794 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 435,363 shares of the company's stock worth $73,965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,165 shares of the company's stock worth $55,566,000 after acquiring an additional 6,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens upped their target price on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup raised shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.75.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock traded up $1.12 on Friday, reaching $176.14. 80,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 518,814. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.33 and a 1-year high of $198.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company's 50-day moving average is $168.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.92.

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