FIL Ltd Sells 20,500 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

FIL Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 87,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,500 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $14,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 3.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,627,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.3% in 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 last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 22,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 10,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $167.94 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $198.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.10.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 EPS 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%. Research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens raised their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.