Paralel Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Paralel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 797 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 25.0% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AZO shares. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AutoZone from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.2 %

AZO traded down $5.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3,569.64. 6,937 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 132,498. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3,548.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,318.05. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.