Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Makes New Investment in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in AutoNation by 37.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 33.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AN. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $248.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.00.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $196.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $200.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.51. The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.71. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.62 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoNation 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.