Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Lowers Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina cut its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,766 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $24,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% in the 3rd 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in AutoZone by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $228,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Stock Performance

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,623.54 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3,552.65 and a 200 day moving average of $3,322.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock worth $24,609,331 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AutoZone 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.