Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,368 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.09% of AutoZone worth $49,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings 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 worth $141,717,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 1.0% during 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 holdings in AutoZone by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,483.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,279.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,838.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone 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.