Lafayette Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. AutoZone accounts for 2.2% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $10,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after acquiring an additional 89,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in AutoZone by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.5 %

AZO opened at $3,678.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,560.50 and its 200-day moving average is $3,330.17. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AZO shares. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AutoZone from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

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.