AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Purchased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 49.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 988 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,605.88 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,433.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,257.92.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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 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 have sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Barclays raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

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.