Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Has $11.27 Million Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,954 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up about 1.3% of Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 435,031.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 770,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,936,535,000 after purchasing an additional 770,005 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,039,421,000 after buying an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at about $834,556,000. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $683,867,000 after buying an additional 13,771 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus cut AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $4,000.00 target price (up previously from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,192.00 to $4,850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4,072.24.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,718.93 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,760.00 and a one year high of $3,916.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3,693.79 and a 200-day moving average of $3,487.09. The company has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.40.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $36.69 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 49.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,398 shares of company stock valued at $45,676,997. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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