Bridgewater Associates LP Has $70.08 Million Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,885 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.13% of AutoZone worth $70,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock worth $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company's stock worth $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in AutoZone by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock worth $545,033,000 after purchasing an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.0 %

AZO traded up $34.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,601.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 84,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,674. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,573.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,341.79. The stock has a market cap of $60.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.