Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,044 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.44% of AutoZone worth $233,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $355,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,383,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,506,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $2,879,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 1,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Down 4.5 %

NYSE AZO opened at $3,654.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $3,531.36 and its 200 day moving average is $3,301.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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.