Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 649 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. LGT Capital Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 27,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,458,000 after acquiring an additional 6,630 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in AutoZone by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,506,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,398,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total value of $6,720,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 910 shares in the company, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Eric S. Gould sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,200.00, for a total transaction of $6,720,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,990 shares of company stock worth $50,335,193. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AZO traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $2,945.98. 115,840 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 154,845. The company has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3,024.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $2,769.99. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $24.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $3,450.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,086.61.

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.