Brighton Jones LLC Makes New $248,000 Investment in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 96 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 232,194.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after buying an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 111.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176,623 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in AutoZone by 341.5% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 159,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,582,000 after purchasing an additional 123,208 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in AutoZone by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 195,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,512,000 after purchasing an additional 58,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in AutoZone by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 51,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,055,000 after purchasing an additional 34,092 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. 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 target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $2,952.20 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,277.88 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $51.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,048.03 and a 200-day moving average of $2,783.78.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $24.64 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares in the company, valued at $8,756,456.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.