7,019 Shares in AutoNation, Inc. $AN Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 7,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,304,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 192,434.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,422,133 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,784,000 after purchasing an additional 56,641 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,460,000 after purchasing an additional 91,232 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 895,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AN shares. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays increased their price target on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $287.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoNation Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $208.94 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.72. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.62 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.46.

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

AutoNation 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.