Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Takes $458,000 Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wambolt & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 90 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 22,086 shares of the company's stock worth $70,719,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in AutoZone by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 267 shares of the company's stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Napean Trading & Investment Co Singapore PTE Ltd raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Napean Trading & Investment Co Singapore PTE Ltd now owns 3,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,598,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,683.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $58.39 on Friday, reaching $3,769.72. The company had a trading volume of 166,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,256. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,838.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $3,483.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,279.56.

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

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.