Ellsworth Advisors LLC Has $4.64 Million Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,794 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises about 1.5% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,669,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 51,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,055,000 after acquiring an additional 34,092 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other AutoZone news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,541.85, for a total value of $1,052,325.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,820,219.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,797 shares of company stock worth $81,010,974. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock traded down $41.14 on Friday, hitting $3,151.65. 173,056 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,714. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,277.88 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $54.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2,912.84 and a 200 day moving average of $2,699.29.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $24.64 EPS. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AZO. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,080.72.

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.