AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,578 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,132 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned about 0.12% of AutoZone worth $62,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at $239,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,891,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,553.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,704.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3,401.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,243.69.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,871 shares of company stock valued at $6,720,811. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.