AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.6% during the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AZO. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,420.42 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,672.31 and a twelve month high of $3,484.42. The firm has a market cap of $57.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3,292.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,181.94.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.