Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,549 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of AutoZone worth $88,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 205.9% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 208 shares of the company's stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 135 shares of the company's stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in AutoZone by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 33 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,877.00 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,664.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3,429.72. The company has a market capitalization of $65.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, 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.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of AutoZone from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $3,837.82.

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.

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