Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 2,330 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) by 11.6% in Q4, adding 2,330 shares to hold 22,486 shares valued at about $76.27 million (≈0.14% of the company).
• Institutional ownership is very high at 92.74%, with multiple large funds boosting positions—e.g., Vanguard now holds 1,797,548 shares (~$7.71 billion) while AQR, Victory and Allspring each made substantial additions.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,312.13, as several brokerages set targets around $4,000–$4,300.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,486 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.14% of AutoZone worth $76,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,185 shares of the company's stock worth $432,059,000 after acquiring an additional 45,212 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 401.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,803 shares of the company's stock worth $222,247,000 after acquiring an additional 41,467 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $149,656,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 61,096 shares of the company's stock worth $259,533,000 after acquiring an additional 29,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,797,548 shares of the company's stock worth $7,711,912,000 after acquiring an additional 26,544 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AZO. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $4,300.00 price target (up from $4,150.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,076.00 to $4,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,550.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,020.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $4,300.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4,312.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total value of $173,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,826,568.64. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,564.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,549.84 and a 200-day moving average of $3,634.09. The company has a market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.41. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,210.72 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $27.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. AutoZone's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $28.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 148.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoZone Company Profile

AutoZone, Inc NYSE: AZO is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.

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