Toronto Dominion Bank Grows Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,136 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in AutoZone were worth $22,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in AutoZone by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,039,421,000 after buying an additional 17,518 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoZone by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company's stock worth $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in AutoZone by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 204,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $655,840,000 after acquiring an additional 26,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock traded down $13.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3,858.79. The stock had a trading volume of 105,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,975. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,916.81. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $3,678.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,435.86.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46% 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 three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AZO. Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,841.00 to $3,995.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Argus cut AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $3,887.82.

About AutoZone

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.