12th Street Asset Management Company LLC Sells 12 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

12th Street Asset Management Company LLC cut its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12 shares during the quarter. AutoZone makes up approximately 4.2% of 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $25,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,651.91.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO opened at $3,538.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,704.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,395.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,240.97.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,871 shares of company stock valued at $6,720,811 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.