AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Holdings Boosted by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $447,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 21.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,371,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 154 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in AutoZone by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 16,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,344,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,663.44 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,441.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,263.12. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,704.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AZO. UBS Group boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

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.