Enhancing Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 70 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 70 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZO shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Argus cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,611.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3,415.14 and its 200-day moving average is $3,250.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,704.43.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 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.