Scotia Capital Inc. Raises Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,551 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $189,483,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,656.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,556.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,325.86. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81. The company has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZO. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% 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.