Kendall Capital Management Takes Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Kendall Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 78 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $471,629,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 186.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $189,483,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 542.8% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,032,000 after purchasing an additional 52,753 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,646.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AZO opened at $3,620.28 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,365.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,230.04. The company has a market cap of $60.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,636.96.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.