Jones Financial Companies Lllp Buys 155 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 53.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 447 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 4.2% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Mkm increased their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,646.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,620.28 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,365.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,229.56. The company has a market capitalization of $60.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current 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.