Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Has $5.03 Million Stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC reduced its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,592 shares of the company’s stock after selling 592 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $5,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,136,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,312,000 after acquiring an additional 203,335 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 160,794 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth about $13,239,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,836,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN stock opened at $158.63 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $177.57 and a 200-day moving average of $173.65. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.08 and a 12-month high of $198.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens lifted their target price on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.86.

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.