AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Plancorp LLC

Plancorp LLC increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZO. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 7.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth $208,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 14.2% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,699,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AZO. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,605.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,433.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,258.73. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,704.43. The company has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.