SVB Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

SVB Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 259 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its position in AutoZone by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $2,985.55 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $3,005.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $2,757.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,277.88 and a one year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $24.64 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho initiated coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.