AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Holdings Lifted by Great Lakes Retirement Inc.

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 319 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 166.7% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO traded down $33.14 during trading on Thursday, reaching $3,159.65. The company had a trading volume of 130,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,658. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,277.88 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $2,902.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $2,695.82. The company has a market cap of $54.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,541.85, for a total transaction of $1,052,325.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,470 shares in the company, valued at $8,820,219.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other AutoZone news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,541.85, for a total value of $1,052,325.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,470 shares in the company, valued at $8,820,219.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,797 shares of company stock valued at $81,010,974 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AZO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Raymond James raised shares of AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $2,850.00 to $3,100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,375.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities 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, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,080.72.

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.