Edgestream Partners L.P. Buys Shares of 524 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in AutoZone by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 592.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Mizuho lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,685.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,375.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,233.66. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.