Harbour Investments Inc. Raises Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 42.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $32,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 6,083.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,281,000 after buying an additional 89,190 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after buying an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $189,483,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,663.44 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,704.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,441.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,263.12. The firm has a market cap of $61.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned 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 an average price target of $3,683.36.

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.