Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Has $5.94 Million Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lessened its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,168 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,092 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned 0.07% of AutoNation worth $5,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at about $1,140,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,401,000. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,024,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in AutoNation by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 2,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in AutoNation by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 66,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,546,000 after buying an additional 22,664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $193.81 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 0.89. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $228.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.20.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.91 by $0.17. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Stephens upped their target price on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.67.

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.