Bessemer Group Inc. Has $98.05 Million Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,623 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,418 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.18% of AutoZone worth $98,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AZO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of 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, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

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Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $40.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3,656.09. The company had a trading volume of 144,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,377. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,556.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,325.86. The stock has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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.