Mariner LLC Increases Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,822 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. Mariner LLC owned approximately 0.07% of AutoZone worth $37,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company's stock worth $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,776 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone 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 of the company's stock, valued at $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO traded down $52.19 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $3,551.29. 25,408 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 132,729. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,573.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,343.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

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.