Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 17 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in AutoZone by 5.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,448.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3,332.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,214.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,484.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.