AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stake Lifted by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,318 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 750.0% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Argus lowered AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $3,821.91.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock traded down $16.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3,658.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 81,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,692. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,916.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3,646.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,394.93. The stock has a market cap of $61.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $581,940. The trade was a 96.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by 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.