Diversified Trust Co Acquires Shares of 5,255 AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at approximately $170,270,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,491,000 after purchasing an additional 109,571 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 300,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,203,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth about $42,748,000. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in AutoNation by 1.8% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 267,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,317,000 after acquiring an additional 4,720 shares during 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 23,703 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,794,659.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total value of $10,361,568.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,825,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $740,108,361.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,265 shares of company stock valued at $32,066,359 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AutoNation stock traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $171.20. 4,851 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,819. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $167.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.21. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.81 and a 1-year high of $197.18. The company has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.84 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, April 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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