AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Acquired by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,895 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. DA Davidson increased their price target on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush raised their target price on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on 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 raised their target price on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded up $15.50 during trading on Monday, hitting $2,967.70. 116,362 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,810. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,055.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,791.59. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,277.88 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $24.64 earnings per share. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, 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 value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total transaction of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.