National Pension Service Has $128.96 Million Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,274 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $128,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,771 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates grew its holdings in AutoZone by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $471,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,388.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,327.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,212.80. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,484.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its 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 net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AZO shares. Citigroup increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus 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.