NorthRock Partners LLC Invests $311,000 in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 97 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,647,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company's stock worth $211,383,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in AutoZone by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,044 shares of the company's stock worth $233,718,000 after acquiring an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoZone news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the company'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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $581,940. This represents a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE AZO traded down $9.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,870.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 114,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,723. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3,671.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,432.84. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,926.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share 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 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, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised shares of AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $3,887.82.

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.