South Dakota Investment Council Has $11.46 Million Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 76,279 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,140 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $11,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Realta Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 5.6% during the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 6,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in AutoNation by 18.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AN. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America cut their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

AutoNation Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE AN traded up $3.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $158.36. 392,473 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,214. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.81 and a twelve month high of $182.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.92 and its 200-day moving average is $144.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.17. AutoNation had a return on equity of 48.76% and a net margin of 3.79%. The company had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 3,671 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.67, for a total value of $549,438.57. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $925,259.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 121,279 shares of company stock valued at $19,361,962 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation 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.