Rathbones Group PLC Acquires Shares of 627 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Rathbones Group PLC bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 627 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,008,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 63.0% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 119 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in AutoZone by 7.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,399 shares of the company's stock worth $10,707,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 1.1% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 629 shares of the company's stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,252,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho raised their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $40.85 on Friday, reaching $3,656.09. 144,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,434. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $3,556.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,325.86. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The company has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. On average, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.