Tredje AP fonden Cuts Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Tredje AP fonden reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $16,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $189,483,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AZO shares. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,651.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.5 %

AZO stock opened at $3,545.76 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,704.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3,390.02 and its 200 day moving average is $3,238.89. The stock has a market cap of $59.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.