Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,608 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $21,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 18.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in AutoZone by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $228,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,838.00. The company has a market cap of $63.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3,483.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,279.56.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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.