AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Purchased by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,686 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $5,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZO. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,838.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,483.80 and a 200-day moving average of $3,279.56. 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 (NYSE:AZO) last released its 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 business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, 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, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone 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.