HCR Wealth Advisors Grows Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

HCR Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,884 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 229 shares during the quarter. AutoNation accounts for 0.6% of HCR Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. HCR Wealth Advisors owned about 0.06% of AutoNation worth $3,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 1.2% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 32,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,393,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% in the second quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 9,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 1.7% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.6% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $161.53 on Monday. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.81 and a twelve month high of $197.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.43.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.50%. AutoNation’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total value of $10,361,568.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $740,108,361.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 216,959 shares of company stock worth $39,346,744 in the last three months. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.71.

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.