AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,259 shares of the company's stock after selling 605 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in AutoZone were worth $20,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,571,000 after acquiring an additional 6,138 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its stake in AutoZone by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 9,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,550,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,526,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. Mizuho raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $40.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $3,656.09. 144,421 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,434. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $3,556.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,325.86. The firm has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS 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.