Kings Path Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $3,700.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,400.32.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.8 %

AZO traded up $24.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $3,293.49. The company had a trading volume of 181,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,203. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $3,191.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,116.27. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,510.00 and a 52 week high of $3,416.71. The company has a market capitalization of $55.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $32.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 154.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total transaction of $40,392,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,055,777.55. The trade was a 48.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

About AutoZone

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.