7,267 Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,269,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 61 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in AutoZone by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,647,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,383,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 73,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,718,000 after buying an additional 21,266 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 159 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $581,940. The trade was a 96.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.4%

AutoZone stock traded up $50.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $3,745.72. 205,343 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,820. The stock has a market cap of $62.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,916.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,694.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,457.18.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $36.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AZO. Raymond James boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Oppenheimer upgraded AutoZone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $4,600.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $4,054.52.

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.