Swedbank AB Acquires 2,152 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its AutoZone stake by 6.9%—buying 2,152 shares to hold 33,479 shares (0.20% of the company) worth about $113.54 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 92.74% of the stock.
• Several analysts have raised price targets (Goldman, Oppenheimer, JPMorgan among them), leaving AutoZone with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $4,312.13.
• AutoZone has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a trailing P/E of 24.85, and reported quarterly EPS of $27.63 (beat by $0.04) with revenue up 8.2% year‑over‑year.

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,479 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.20% of AutoZone worth $113,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 176,986 shares of the company's stock worth $584,730,000 after buying an additional 50,071 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 2,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,787,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in AutoZone by 464.3% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 158 shares of the company's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in AutoZone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 1,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,691,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,898 shares of the company's stock worth $74,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Director Earl G. Graves, Jr. sold 50 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,478.72, for a total transaction of $173,936.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,837 shares in the company, valued at $16,826,568.64. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AZO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $4,274.00 to $4,345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,300.00 target price (up from $4,150.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. TD Cowen cut their price target on AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on AutoZone from $4,400.00 to $4,300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $4,312.13.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,547.40 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,534.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,620.94. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3,210.72 and a 52 week high of $4,388.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.43.

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 the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion for 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%. The business's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $28.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 148.93 earnings per share for the current 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.