Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 20,974 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Parnassus Investments LLC cut its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 278,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,974 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises approximately 2.0% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $891,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,211,000 after acquiring an additional 42,776 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective 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. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,651.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares in the company, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,538.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,704.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,395.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,240.97.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current 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.