Pathstone Holdings LLC Has $12.79 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,994 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $12,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in AutoZone by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,647,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 82.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,033,000 after purchasing an additional 77,015 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,718,000 after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,755.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3,654.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,412.84. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81.

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 analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer raised shares of AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.