Foster & Motley Inc. Purchases New Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,250,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at $256,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the second quarter valued at approximately $438,689,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoNation during the second quarter valued at $671,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,376,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the second quarter worth $204,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AutoNation from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.00.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN opened at $197.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.71. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.62 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $200.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In related news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the business’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 transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.