Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC Buys Shares of 1,377 AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,300,000 after purchasing an additional 181,942 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,491,000 after acquiring an additional 109,571 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 262,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,487,000 after purchasing an additional 5,930 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in AutoNation by 137.5% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 167,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,311,000 after purchasing an additional 96,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in AutoNation by 129.0% during the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 104,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,815,000 after purchasing an additional 58,850 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $1,680,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,197,224. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AutoNation news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $1,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at $8,197,224. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 3,133 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total transaction of $477,093.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,657.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 131,279 shares of company stock valued at $21,041,962. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $166.44 on Tuesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.81 and a 12 month high of $182.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $157.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.07.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 42.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, April 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.63.

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.