Choate Investment Advisors Grows Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 295 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in AutoZone were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Argus lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,553.69 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,704.43. The company has a market capitalization of $59.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3,401.49 and a 200 day moving average of $3,244.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,871 shares of company stock valued at $6,720,811. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Company 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.