UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Sells 640 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lessened its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after buying an additional 89,190 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $189,483,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 52,753 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.5 %

AZO opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,483.80 and a 200 day moving average of $3,278.52. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,838.00. The firm has a market cap of $63.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share 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.