Central Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Central Bank & Trust Co. cut its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 worth $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,684,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,699,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,221.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,658.18 and a 52-week high of $3,416.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,222.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,136.66.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 153.09 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

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.