Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 728 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,990 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 542.8% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company's stock worth $200,032,000 after buying an additional 52,753 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter worth approximately $85,127,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $63,379,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO traded up $41.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3,355.54. 78,671 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 108,630. The company's 50-day moving average price is $3,252.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,160.68. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,672.31 and a 1-year high of $3,437.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $32.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $3,700.00 price target for the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $3,429.84.

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.