Barclays PLC Raises Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 82.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,216 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 1.01% of AutoZone worth $545,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in AutoZone by 83.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,174 shares of the company's stock worth $9,998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 607 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,912,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company's stock worth $3,465,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $34.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,601.29. 84,319 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,599. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $3,570.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,337.09. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm 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%. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AZO. UBS Group lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with 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 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.