BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 420 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,171 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned 0.05% of AutoZone worth $29,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 153.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 340 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 142,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $457,053,000 after buying an additional 21,226 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 392 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 27,549 shares of the company's stock worth $88,212,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Finally, Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in AutoZone by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,038 shares of the company's stock worth $3,324,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 price objective on AutoZone and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Guggenheim increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,700.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,966.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO traded down $146.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $3,679.86. The company had a trading volume of 137,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,791. The company has a market capitalization of $61.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $3,692.06 and its 200-day moving average is $3,455.58.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $36.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Company 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.