Empire Life Investments Inc. Increases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 31.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,076 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $19,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 6.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $471,629,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,461.94 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,680.96 and a 1 year high of $3,484.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3,312.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,194.34. The stock has a market cap of $58.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $32.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect 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.