Ethic Inc. Acquires 724 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 55.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,025 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 482,040.2% in 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $834,556,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 89,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 82.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,033,000 after acquiring an additional 77,015 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This trade 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, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,521 shares of company stock worth $42,177,331 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.4 %

AutoZone stock opened at $3,658.70 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,649.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,398.25. The stock has a market cap of $61.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AZO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Argus cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,821.91.

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.