Nutshell Asset Management Ltd Takes Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Nutshell Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,770,000. AutoZone comprises approximately 5.5% of Nutshell Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 25.0% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,654.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3,531.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,301.82.

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

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.