AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6,083.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 90,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $290,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in AutoZone by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after acquiring an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 592.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after acquiring an additional 7,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. Barclays increased 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,651.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,685.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,375.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,233.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,704.43.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued 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 business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. On average, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share 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.