Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 329 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 49.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 988 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% in the fourth 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 boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,605.88 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market cap of $60.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3,433.28 and its 200 day moving average is $3,257.92.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AZO shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.