Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Buys 16 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 108 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 542.8% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,032,000 after purchasing an additional 52,753 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $85,127,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,379,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,463.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,672.31 and a 12 month high of $3,475.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3,269.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,171.01.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

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.