California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 48,156 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,401 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $8,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners grew its position in AutoNation by 12.6% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 854,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,804,000 after purchasing an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 433,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,623,000 after purchasing an additional 18,588 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AutoNation by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,566,000 after buying an additional 6,277 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,136,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $157.77 on Tuesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $198.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. As a group, analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens raised their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.86.

About AutoNation

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.