AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Position Raised by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 213,575 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up about 6.4% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $683,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in AutoZone by 4.2% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,461.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $58.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,312.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,194.34. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,680.96 and a one year high of $3,484.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $32.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS 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.