National Pension Service Raises Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,489 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.21% of AutoZone worth $91,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZO. LGT Capital Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $145,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,506,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,398,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO traded up $14.91 on Thursday, reaching $2,977.43. 32,446 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,238. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,277.88 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $3,056.63 and its 200-day moving average is $2,795.11. The company has a market cap of $51.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on AutoZone from $3,505.00 to $3,420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,108.83.

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.