AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 35.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,089 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,776 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.97% of AutoZone worth $522,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Creative Planning boosted its position in AutoZone by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,519 shares of the company's stock worth $7,933,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 475 shares of the company's stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 127.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 84 shares of the company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in AutoZone by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,374 shares of the company's stock worth $127,180,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verde Capital Management purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $3,700.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.4 %

AutoZone stock traded up $12.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3,408.52. 70,978 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,466. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,320.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,203.12. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,680.96 and a 12-month high of $3,484.42. The firm has a market cap of $57.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $32.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.