California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 4,401 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,156 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,401 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of AutoNation worth $8,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,136,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $679,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $883,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut AutoNation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.86.

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AutoNation Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AN stock traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $167.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 525,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,156. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $174.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.10. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $148.33 and a one year high of $198.50. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. Equities research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

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.