Brandes Investment Partners LP Has $62.69 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,578 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,132 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $62,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.8% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 3.6% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,891,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AZO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,651.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,871 shares of company stock valued at $6,720,811 in the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,553.69 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $3,401.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,243.69. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

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

AutoZone Company 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.