California Public Employees Retirement System Has $11.40 Million Stake in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,405 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,572 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.17% of AutoNation worth $11,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoNation by 37.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total value of $512,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,348.96. The trade was a 63.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on AutoNation from $208.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Northcoast Research raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.18.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.6%

AN opened at $208.28 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.62 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $192.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.30.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.65 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 2.47%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.41 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.