Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Grows Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 100.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 132 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in 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 bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 25.0% during 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. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,601.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,570.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,337.09. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.