Townsend & Associates Inc Acquires 1,881 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) by 83.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,145 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares during the quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in AutoZone were worth $11,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company's stock worth $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in AutoZone by 1.3% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 441,566 shares of the company's stock worth $1,121,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,650 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in AutoZone by 111.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $851,379,000 after purchasing an additional 176,623 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 259,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,309,000 after purchasing an additional 11,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in AutoZone by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 212,376 shares of the company's stock worth $539,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AZO stock traded up $24.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $2,987.05. 77,212 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,778. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,055.54 and a 200 day moving average of $2,796.28. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The firm has a market cap of $51.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. AutoZone's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $24.64 EPS. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AZO. DA Davidson raised their price target on AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,505.00 to $3,420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $3,108.83.

AutoZone Company Profile

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.