Tweedy Browne Co LLC Sells 3,328 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Tweedy Browne Co LLC lessened its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 30.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,696 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,328 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up about 1.7% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $24,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,571,000 after acquiring an additional 6,138 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 9,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,550,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,526,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 10,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,526,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.3 %

AZO stock opened at $3,821.72 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3,495.81 and a 200 day moving average of $3,285.75. The firm has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,842.82.

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

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.