Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Increases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.10% of AutoZone worth $44,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 1.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.9% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.0% in the third quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, Alcosta Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.3% in the third quarter. Alcosta Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,188,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE AZO traded down $23.88 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $2,961.66. The stock had a trading volume of 167,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,557. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,005.06 and a 200 day moving average of $2,761.20. The stock has a market cap of $51.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,277.88 and a 52-week high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $24.64 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total value of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.