Vision Financial Markets LLC Buys Shares of 1,933 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,189,000. AutoZone makes up approximately 6.6% of Vision Financial Markets LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $471,629,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 542.8% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,032,000 after buying an additional 52,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,211,000 after buying an additional 42,776 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,646.62.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,569.49 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,570.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,351.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,223.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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.