AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Anthracite Investment Company Inc.

Anthracite Investment Company Inc. trimmed its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up approximately 1.1% of Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings 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 period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in AutoZone by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,675.49 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,704.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,450.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,267.24.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 have sold 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.