Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 735 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in AutoZone by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,844,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $2,985.55 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,277.88 and a one year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,005.06 and a 200 day moving average of $2,757.38. The stock has a market cap of $51.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $24.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZO. UBS Group boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,086.61.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.