Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 65 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 418 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,000.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,646.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,620.28 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,636.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,365.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,230.04. The company has a market capitalization of $60.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.