Hendley & Co. Inc. Lowers Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Hendley & Co. Inc. reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 993 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. AutoZone accounts for 1.2% of Hendley & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Hendley & Co. Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 76 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,995,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,620,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 3,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,934,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $4,300.00 target price on AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Evercore boosted their target price on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Argus raised AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4,325.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,312.13.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,826,568.64. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,318.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,492.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,597.74. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $3,210.72 and a one year high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $27.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 72.31% and a net margin of 12.47%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $28.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 148.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do?it?yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.