2,789 Shares in AutoNation, Inc. $AN Acquired by Equitable Holdings Inc.

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 192,434.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,422,133 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter worth $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in AutoNation by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,784,000 after purchasing an additional 56,641 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in AutoNation by 11.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,460,000 after purchasing an additional 91,232 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 895,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,489 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This trade represents a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $248.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Argus upped their target price on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.1%

AN stock opened at $200.35 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.62 and a 52-week high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AutoNation

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.