Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 99,876 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $258,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rock Creek Group LP purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter worth $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter worth $43,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter worth $51,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter worth $64,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AutoZone news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $48,992,208.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.9 %

AutoZone stock opened at $2,962.52 on Thursday. 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 cap of $51.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3,056.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,795.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released 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 net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $24.64 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush increased 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. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,505.00 to $3,420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,108.83.

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.