Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys 44 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 50.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 131 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in AutoZone by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,927,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,208,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,663.44 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market cap of $61.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,441.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,263.12.

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). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AZO. UBS Group upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,683.36.

About AutoZone

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.