Ellsworth Advisors LLC Purchases 251 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,410 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 251 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in AutoNation by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN traded down $1.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $165.70. 290,032 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 436,063. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $148.39 and its 200 day moving average is $143.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $123.81 and a one year high of $182.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 19.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.00.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total value of $54,456,730.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,278,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $612,362,391.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 3,671 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.67, for a total transaction of $549,438.57. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $925,259.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 380,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $54,456,730.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,278,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $612,362,391.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 579,060 shares of company stock valued at $84,837,845. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoNation Company Profile

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.