DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 7,100 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lowered its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 65.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,100 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in AutoNation were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 13.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the first quarter valued at about $215,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 2.8% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 47.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 33.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,577,000 after buying an additional 6,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised AutoNation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $54,456,730.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,278,664 shares in the company, valued at $612,362,391.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total transaction of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at $659,640,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $54,456,730.64. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,278,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $612,362,391.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 501,776 shares of company stock worth $73,818,692. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of AutoNation stock traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $154.45. The company had a trading volume of 484,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,875. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $152.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.81 and a fifty-two week high of $182.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 48.76% and a net margin of 3.79%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.95 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation 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.