Keel Point LLC Buys 4 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Keel Point LLC raised its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $781,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 38.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,755,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 18.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,008,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Oppenheimer upgraded AutoZone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $4,600.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,814.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,756.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3,623.06 and a 200 day moving average of $3,379.37. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,728.97 and a 12 month high of $3,916.81. The company has a market capitalization of $63.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.