Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $14.23 Million Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 69.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,443 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,817 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $14,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,867,000 after buying an additional 13,771 shares during the last quarter. Marshfield Associates lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% in the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,211,000 after buying an additional 42,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $471,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AZO shares. Argus boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AutoZone in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.8 %

AZO opened at $3,396.14 on Tuesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,708.09 and a 12 month high of $3,484.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,322.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,209.45. The stock has a market cap of $56.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70.

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