Ethic Inc. Acquires 724 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 55.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,025 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in AutoZone by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,421,000 after buying an additional 17,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after buying an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,840,000 after acquiring an additional 26,036 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,658.70 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3,649.54 and its 200-day moving average is $3,398.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,940. The trade was a 96.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,841.00 to $3,995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,821.91.

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.