AGF Management Ltd. Trims Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

AGF Management Ltd. reduced its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,291 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AZO. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in AutoZone by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO opened at $3,545.76 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,704.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,390.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,238.89. The stock has a market cap of $59.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) 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 net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. Research analysts expect 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.