Lincoln National Corp Raises Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 679 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 32.0% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,234,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,550,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 7.1% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 90 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 9.9% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 1,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the third quarter worth $643,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded up $1.43 on Wednesday, reaching $2,992.08. The company had a trading volume of 16,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,828. The firm has a market cap of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3,056.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2,795.11. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $24.64 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZO. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Mizuho assumed coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush increased their price objective on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,505.00 to $3,420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,108.83.

About AutoZone

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.