Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 120 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,267 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after purchasing an additional 419,375 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $471,629,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $189,483,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 542.8% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,032,000 after purchasing an additional 52,753 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AZO. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,561.95 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,704.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3,383.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,236.73. The stock has a market cap of $59.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (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, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 50 shares in the company, valued at $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.