AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,274 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.24% of AutoZone worth $128,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,388.21 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,327.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,212.80. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,484.42. The company has a market capitalization of $56.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $32.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.