AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stake Boosted by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,686 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing 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.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in AutoZone by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,159,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $834,556,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $701,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZO. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the 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 directly owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % 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 business’s 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 in the company, valued at $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 quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.5 %

AZO stock opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,838.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3,483.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,279.56. The firm 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current 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.