AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stock Holdings Lifted by Verde Capital Management

Verde Capital Management grew its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 32.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 911 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up 1.0% of Verde Capital Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Verde Capital Management's holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in AutoZone by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $3,900.00 to $4,800.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $4,100.00 price objective (up from $3,850.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI set a $3,950.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $4,054.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,133 shares of company stock valued at $51,914,997. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO traded up $16.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $3,749.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 138,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,852. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $3,698.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,471.00. The stock has a market cap of $62.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $37.07 by ($1.71). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $36.69 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.