Townsend & Associates Inc Acquires 1,881 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Townsend & Associates Inc raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 83.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,145 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rock Creek Group LP bought a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.5 %

AZO stock traded up $14.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $2,977.43. The company had a trading volume of 32,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,238. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3,056.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,795.11. The company has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,277.88 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho began coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,505.00 to $3,420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Five research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,108.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.