AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Acquired by Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 152 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after buying an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates lifted its stake in AutoZone by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,211,000 after acquiring an additional 42,776 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,620.28 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3,365.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,230.04. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,636.96. The company has a market capitalization of $60.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,646.62.

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.