KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires 100 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,949 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in AutoZone were worth $22,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in AutoZone by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the company's stock worth $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 138 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $4,000.00 target price (up from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,025.00 to $4,260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,087.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,546 shares in the company, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total value of $11,627,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,337,007.50. The trade was a 50.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,862 shares of company stock worth $126,058,789 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

NYSE AZO traded down $22.30 on Friday, reaching $3,819.20. The company had a trading volume of 80,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,753. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3,711.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,597.71. The firm has a market cap of $64.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,898.57 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. The firm 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 business earned $36.69 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share 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.