Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $4.30 Million in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,304,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in AutoZone by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in AutoZone by 750.0% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 17 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoZone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,850.00 to $4,200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $3,837.82.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $90.58 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $3,877.00. The stock had a trading volume of 139,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,345. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $3,658.37 and its 200-day moving average is $3,423.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares in the company, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19% 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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.