AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,520 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,428 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of AutoNation worth $5,484,521 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AutoNation by 49.9% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the company's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new position in AutoNation in the second quarter valued at $393,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC boosted its position in AutoNation by 13.9% in the second quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 21,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,084,000 after buying an additional 2,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in AutoNation during the second quarter worth $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,757,580. This represents a 10.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered AutoNation from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Northcoast Research upgraded AutoNation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $248.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $250.00.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AN traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $204.74. 187,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 417,239. The stock has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.72. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $176.62 and a one year high of $235.81. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $205.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc is a leading automotive retailer in the United States. The company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and provides automotive services including vehicle financing, insurance products, maintenance, repair, parts, and collision-repair services.

In addition to its manufacturer-branded dealerships, AutoNation operates AutoNation USA locations focused primarily on used vehicles and offers digital tools that allow customers to research, purchase, finance, and service vehicles online.

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