AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Acquired by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 127.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,447 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,447 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.12% of AutoZone worth $65,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded down $26.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,652.54. The company had a trading volume of 38,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,089. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3,580.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,349.79. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market cap of $61.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

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). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AZO shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone 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.