AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Sold by Prospera Financial Services Inc

Prospera Financial Services Inc lessened its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,994 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,387 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 9.0% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,445,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in AutoNation by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 355.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 13.4% in the third quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AN has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore upped their target price on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.11.

AutoNation Trading Down 2.2%

AN stock opened at $202.10 on Tuesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.73.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.91 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.69% and a net margin of 2.35%.AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.