AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Great Diamond Partners LLC

Great Diamond Partners LLC reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 101 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,699,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in AutoZone by 186.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective for the company. Argus boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,354.35 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,672.31 and a 12-month high of $3,437.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3,258.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,162.04.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $32.55 earnings per share. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.