Headlands Technologies LLC Makes New $145,000 Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 56 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $145,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho initiated coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $2,998.78 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,277.88 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,034.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,778.53.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $24.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

About AutoZone

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.