LPL Financial LLC Has $38 Million Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,869 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of AutoZone worth $38,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company's stock worth $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in AutoZone by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company's stock worth $111,455,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $228,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.2 %

AutoZone stock traded down $7.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,805.84. The company had a trading volume of 23,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,622. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,842.82. The firm has a market cap of $63.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3,506.05 and a 200-day moving average of $3,290.64.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted 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). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last three months. Company 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.