Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 8,710 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 383,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,710 shares during the quarter. AutoNation comprises 0.7% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $65,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AN. Boston Partners increased its holdings in AutoNation by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,312,000 after buying an additional 203,335 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,682,000 after buying an additional 160,794 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 435,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,965,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,566,000 after buying an additional 6,277 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth $38,136,000. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Down 1.2 %

AN stock opened at $165.75 on Tuesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $198.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.95.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.86.

About AutoNation

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.