Cozad Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 195 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total transaction of $13,247,439.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 900 shares in the company, valued at $2,845,512. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $2,946.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $51.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,043.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2,782.53. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,277.88 and a 1-year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during 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%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $24.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

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.