AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Acquired by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,912 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $12,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,821.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,495.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,285.75. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,842.82. The company has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently 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.