LGT Capital Partners LTD. Has $70.46 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,250 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,630 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises about 2.1% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned 0.16% of AutoZone worth $70,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 107,977.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 699,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,724,500,000 after acquiring an additional 698,613 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in AutoZone by 368.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 411,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,242,000 after buying an additional 323,536 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at about $658,788,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 4,247.1% during the second quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 141,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,918,000 after purchasing an additional 138,287 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3 %

AZO stock opened at $3,152.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2,912.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $2,699.29. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,277.88 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,541.85, for a total value of $1,052,325.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,470 shares in the company, valued at $8,820,219.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AutoZone news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,541.85, for a total transaction of $1,052,325.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,820,219.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas B. Newbern sold 7,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,551.62, for a total value of $19,902,636.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,427,530.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,797 shares of company stock valued at $81,010,974 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,375.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,027.00 to $3,363.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TheStreet downgraded AutoZone from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,080.72.

About AutoZone

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.