Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $17.36 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $17,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 15,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,937,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Compound Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Compound Global Advisors LLC now owns 4,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,905,000 after buying an additional 938 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in AutoZone by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 796 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,963,000 after acquiring an additional 731,413 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO opened at $3,068.55 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,277.88 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,972.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,733.75. The company has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $24.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,583 shares of company stock worth $60,056,012. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,089.61.

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.