Whipplewood Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 21 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 21 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,211,000 after acquiring an additional 42,776 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth about $471,629,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,442.61.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.2 %

AZO opened at $3,484.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,336.73 and its 200-day moving average is $3,216.77. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,500.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $32.55 EPS. Equities 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.