LGT Capital Partners LTD. Grows Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,250 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises 2.1% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $70,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AZO. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in AutoZone by 8.2% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 53 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.0% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AZO. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,375.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,080.72.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3 %

AutoZone stock opened at $3,152.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.53 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 fifty day simple moving average of $2,912.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,699.29. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,277.88 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $24.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,541.85, for a total transaction of $1,052,325.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,820,219.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,820,219.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,654.14, for a total transaction of $1,839,319.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,189.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 27,797 shares of company stock worth $81,010,974. 2.50% of the stock is currently 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.