Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 83 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,733 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company's stock worth $1,343,117,000 after buying an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 324,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,039,421,000 after purchasing an additional 17,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $834,556,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $683,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO traded up $109.58 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3,755.01. The stock had a trading volume of 135,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,033. The business's 50 day moving average is $3,652.61 and its 200-day moving average is $3,408.36. The company has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,916.81.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AZO. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $3,821.91.

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.