Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 11,800 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 317,318 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,800 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $61,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 57,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,825,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 180.1% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,000 after buying an additional 8,491 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $6,443,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $2,247,000. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $4,077,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total value of $512,275.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,348.96. The trade was a 63.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $208.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.30. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.62 and a twelve month high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.71 by ($0.02). AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 2.47%.The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AN shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $208.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.18.

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.