Optivise Advisory Services LLC Acquires New Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

by · The Markets Daily

Optivise Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 70 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 83.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 607 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 5.6% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,465,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth $781,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,601.29 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,573.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,343.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,916.81. The company has a market capitalization of $60.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Free Report) last posted its 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AZO. Roth Mkm upped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised AutoZone from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $3,044.00 to $3,811.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,724.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AutoZone

AutoZone Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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