Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 285 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,776 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,871 shares of company stock valued at $6,720,811. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.6 %

AZO stock opened at $3,569.96 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,426.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,254.98. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,704.43. The company has a market cap of $59.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current 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.