2,154 Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Bought by Allianz SE

Allianz SE purchased a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,862,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AutoZone by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after acquiring an additional 7,922 shares during the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 1.0% during 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. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in AutoZone by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,838.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,483.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,279.56.

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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.