Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 1,866 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 98.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,765 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in AutoNation were worth $639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 142.2% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 73,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,138,000 after acquiring an additional 43,113 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter worth $585,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 6.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 320,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,413,000 after buying an additional 19,015 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth about $13,239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities 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, AutoNation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.71.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AN traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $189.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 363,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.78. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.35 and a 1 year high of $198.50.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.98% and a net margin of 2.59%. Research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation 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.