Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 58.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,095 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,837 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.08% of AutoZone worth $41,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 63.0% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 7.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,399 shares of the company's stock worth $10,707,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 629 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,981,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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AutoZone Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of AZO traded up $40.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3,656.09. The stock had a trading volume of 144,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,434. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,556.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,325.86. The company has a market capitalization of $61.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, 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.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.