Okabena Investment Services Inc. Makes New $2.44 Million Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Okabena Investment Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,437,000. AutoZone accounts for 0.7% of Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,281,000 after buying an additional 89,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $189,483,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,769.72 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,838.00. The company has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3,483.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,278.52.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AZO. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Company 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.