United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 3 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,120 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE AZO opened at $3,601.29 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,570.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,337.09. The company has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G 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). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,724.00.

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.