AutoZone, Inc. $AZO Shares Acquired by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,637 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the period. AutoZone makes up 0.8% of NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $73,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 176,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,730,000 after acquiring an additional 50,071 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 80.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,059,000 after purchasing an additional 45,212 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 401.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,247,000 after purchasing an additional 41,467 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $149,656,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in AutoZone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,711,912,000 after purchasing an additional 26,544 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Evercore boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,550.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,312.13.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total value of $173,936.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,826,568.64. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.6%

AZO stock opened at $3,497.52 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $3,530.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,617.57. The stock has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.43. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,210.72 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The company had revenue of $4.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $28.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 148.93 EPS for the current year.

About AutoZone

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.