First Manhattan CO. LLC. Has $829.46 Million Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,324 shares of the company's stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises approximately 2.4% of First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned 1.54% of AutoZone worth $829,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth $61,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $3,821.91.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO traded down $16.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $3,658.70. 81,995 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 131,796. The firm has a market cap of $61.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $3,649.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,401.35. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.