Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Purchases 13,284 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 167.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,213 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,284 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.13% of AutoZone worth $80,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in AutoZone by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock worth $1,188,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AZO shares. Oppenheimer upgraded 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. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial set a $3,995.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,072.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,762 shares of company stock worth $147,189,762 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded down $49.13 on Friday, hitting $3,634.34. The company had a trading volume of 119,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,988. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,801.49 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The stock has a market cap of $60.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,695.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,509.18.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $36.69 earnings per share. AutoZone's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Profile

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.