AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stock Holdings Increased by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 46.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,201 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 381 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company's stock worth $111,455,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares during the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth 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. Pensionfund Sabic raised its position in AutoZone by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AZO. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE:AZO traded up $72.03 on Tuesday, reaching $3,550.41. The stock had a trading volume of 44,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,232. The company has a market cap of $59.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The firm's fifty day moving average is $3,533.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,308.09.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 in the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.