TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Decreases Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. reduced its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,209 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after acquiring an additional 89,190 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,033,000 after purchasing an additional 77,015 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,676.16 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3,580.35 and its 200 day moving average is $3,349.79. The stock has a market cap of $61.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81.

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

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.