Perpetual Ltd Purchases 133 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 110.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,326.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $55.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,226.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,142.72. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,672.31 and a one year high of $3,416.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZO. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

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.