BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Invests $4.44 Million in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,438,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,455,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company's stock worth $8,460,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,383,000 after acquiring an additional 7,586 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned 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 price target of $3,724.00.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total value of $17,568,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $581,940. This represents a 96.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock traded down $3.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,606.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 103,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,437. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The company's fifty day moving average price is $3,586.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,355.64. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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.