Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Invests $278,000 in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 73 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 128.6% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 16 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Bank of America raised shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $4,000.00 target price (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $3,811.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,072.24.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,762 shares of company stock valued at $147,189,762 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded down $49.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3,634.34. 119,857 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,988. The stock has a market cap of $60.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $3,695.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,509.18. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,801.49 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $36.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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.