AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,418 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $20,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 41,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,459,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $239,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.8% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,009,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the third quarter. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. now owns 3,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,075,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AZO shares. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,538.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,704.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,395.79 and a 200 day moving average of $3,240.97.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.