AutoNation, Inc. $AN Stake Increased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 192,434.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,422,133 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 12.13% of AutoNation worth $913,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 355.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Down 4.4%

AutoNation stock opened at $184.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.79. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $176.25 and a one year high of $228.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $196.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.78.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.71 by ($0.02). AutoNation had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 31.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total transaction of $512,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,456 shares in the company, valued at $298,348.96. This represents a 63.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AN shares. Stephens increased their target price on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $207.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.33.

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.