Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,521 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,683,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of AutoNation at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,820,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $480,012,000 after purchasing an additional 123,772 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 29.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,505,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,880,000 after purchasing an additional 338,288 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,186,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,415,000 after purchasing an additional 70,224 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,154,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,586,000 after purchasing an additional 32,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 908,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $54,456,730.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,278,664 shares in the company, valued at $612,362,391.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $54,456,730.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,278,664 shares in the company, valued at $612,362,391.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at $659,640,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 501,776 shares of company stock worth $73,818,692 over the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AN shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoNation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $173.00.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN traded down $2.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.37. 717,865 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 441,837. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $152.71 and its 200 day moving average is $143.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $123.81 and a one year high of $182.08.

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