Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Purchases 1,020 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3,290.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,051 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its stake in AutoZone by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,458,000 after acquiring an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,398,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in AutoZone by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in AutoZone by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,214,000 after acquiring an additional 3,636 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,086.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:AZO traded up $9.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $2,970.24. 17,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,876. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,277.88 and a 52 week high of $3,256.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,014.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,767.20.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $24.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current 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.