LGT Capital Partners LTD. Reduces Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. lowered its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,105 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,835 shares during the quarter. AutoZone accounts for 3.3% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned 0.16% of AutoZone worth $86,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,717,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,544,000 after buying an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,455,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,460,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 592.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,012,000 after buying an additional 7,879 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of AZO traded up $70.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $3,685.10. 188,916 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,100. The company's fifty day moving average price is $3,375.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,233.66. The company has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,706.50.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.