Prosperitas Financial LLC Invests $4.08 Million in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Prosperitas Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 21,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,000. AutoNation makes up approximately 1.3% of Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Prosperitas Financial LLC owned 0.07% of AutoNation as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in AutoNation by 192,434.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,422,133 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in AutoNation by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,784,000 after acquiring an additional 56,641 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,460,000 after purchasing an additional 91,232 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 895,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,489 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AN. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.8%

AN opened at $200.35 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.62 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $201.30 and a 200-day moving average of $197.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This trade represents a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.