Empowered Funds LLC Has $5.85 Million Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,828 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $5,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $471,629,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 542.8% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,032,000 after purchasing an additional 52,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth about $85,127,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,448.45 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,672.31 and a 12-month high of $3,484.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,297.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,188.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.70.

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

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.