Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $31.39 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,232 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in AutoZone were worth $31,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 price objective (up previously from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 target price on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,087.00.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,940. The trade was a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total transaction of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. This trade represents a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,662 shares of company stock worth $131,999,089. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $5.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,747.33. 83,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,353. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,802.79 and a 52 week high of $3,916.81. The company's 50 day moving average is $3,705.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,553.46.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.07% and a net margin of 13.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $36.69 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current 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.