AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,875 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $2,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AN. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth about $172,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 16,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 76,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,456,000 after purchasing an additional 12,140 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,491,000 after purchasing an additional 109,571 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AN shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 121,279 shares of company stock worth $19,361,962. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE AN opened at $165.39 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $154.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.84, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $182.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 43.48% and a net margin of 3.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.05 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.92 EPS for the current year.

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.