Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,895 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 32.0% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,234,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in AutoZone by 3.4% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 43,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 4.3% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE AZO traded up $15.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $2,967.70. The company had a trading volume of 116,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,810. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,055.88 and a 200 day moving average of $2,791.59. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,277.88 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $24.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total transaction of $13,247,439.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,512. 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 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush increased their target price on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,086.61.

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.