Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Takes $477,000 Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,540,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the second quarter valued at about $3,601,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in AutoNation during the second quarter worth about $4,849,000. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $752,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,106,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In related news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 7,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.2%

AN stock opened at $196.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.71. 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, 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 price of $200.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.51.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AN. Barclays boosted their price target on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus upped their target price on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Stephens increased their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $248.00 price target on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

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.