Investment Management Corp of Ontario Sells 22 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 855 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in AutoZone by 750.0% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,658.70 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $61.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,649.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,401.35.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. On average, analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AZO. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,821.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.