Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,544 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $19,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AZO shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group lifted 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. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $2,963.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3,010.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,764.30. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $51.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $24.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 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.