Korea Investment CORP Sells 291 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $21,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during 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 in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates grew its position in AutoZone by 0.5% in the third 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. increased its stake in AutoZone by 35.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,838.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,483.80 and its 200 day moving average is $3,279.56.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current 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.