Proficio Capital Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 419,462 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up about 0.8% of Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 2.50% of AutoZone worth $1,343,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth $36,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,388.21 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3,327.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,212.80. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,484.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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.