AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 205.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 468 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Truist Financial upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total value of $13,247,439.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,845,512. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $2,967.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,055.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,791.59.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced 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 business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $24.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

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.