Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $2.01 Million Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 25.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,581 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $2,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 57,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,825,000 after buying an additional 12,210 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $6,443,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth about $2,247,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 180.1% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,000 after buying an additional 8,491 shares during the period. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at $4,077,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN stock opened at $197.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $191.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.81. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.62 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,348.96. This represents a 63.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.