Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Increases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,146 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,473 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.32% of AutoZone worth $170,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AZO. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,683.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,680.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3,460.20 and its 200 day moving average is $3,270.12. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

About AutoZone

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.