AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,505 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $8,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in AutoZone by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,230 shares of the company's stock worth $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 205.9% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 208 shares of the company's stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 485 shares of the company's stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target 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. Roth Mkm boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $3,887.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock traded down $9.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $3,870.93. 114,289 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,723. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $3,671.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,432.84. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,926.00. The company has a market capitalization of $64.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. On average, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.