Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Buys 25,222 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 196.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,037 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,222 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.23% of AutoZone worth $121,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,039,421,000 after acquiring an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 82.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock worth $545,033,000 after purchasing an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,676.16 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81. The firm has a market cap of $61.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's fifty day moving average is $3,580.35 and its 200-day moving average is $3,349.79.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,724.00.

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.

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