Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC Invests $45,000 in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,033,000 after buying an additional 77,015 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,645.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $61.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3,652.18 and its 200-day moving average is $3,406.74. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus lowered AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,821.91.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP Domingo Hurtado sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,660.00, for a total transaction of $17,568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 159 shares in the company, valued at $581,940. This trade represents a 96.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,521 shares of company stock valued at $42,177,331 in the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.