First Manhattan CO. LLC. Cuts Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lessened its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 258,324 shares of the company's stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises about 2.4% of First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned 1.54% of AutoZone worth $829,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 750.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,940. The trade was a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $3,821.91.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO traded up $19.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,663.83. The stock had a trading volume of 43,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,132. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $3,652.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,406.74. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm 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%. As a group, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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.