The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,113 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of AutoNation worth $3,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,312,000 after acquiring an additional 203,335 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in AutoNation by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,682,000 after purchasing an additional 160,794 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in AutoNation by 422.7% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 575,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,658,000 after purchasing an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 435,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,831,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Up 2.3 %

AN opened at $179.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $198.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.49 EPS. AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Guggenheim cut their price target on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cfra Research raised AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.75.

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.