F M Investments LLC Makes New $247,000 Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

F M Investments LLC bought a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 77 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in AutoZone by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,776 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 152,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,924,000 after buying an additional 26,599 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AZO shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,724.00.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,656.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3,556.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,325.86. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, sell-side 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.