Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Boosts Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 135 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8 shares during the quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 441 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,414,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $872,000. Finally, Panoramic Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,448.45 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,672.31 and a 1 year high of $3,484.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,297.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,188.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $32.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.