Bessemer Group Inc. Has $98.05 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 43.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,623 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,418 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $98,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 70.9% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 21,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,916,000 after purchasing an additional 8,981 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 13,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,934,000 after buying an additional 4,837 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $2,008,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 89,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,210,000 after acquiring an additional 6,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,522,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,559.48 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3,548.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,318.05. The firm has a market cap of $59.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

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 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.