Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $206.32 Million Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 64,436 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,611 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $206,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in AutoZone by 7.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,375,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 15.6% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 270.5% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $945,000. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company grew its stake in AutoZone by 24.1% in the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other AutoZone news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 over the last quarter. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,769.72 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,728.97 and a 1 year high of $3,838.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,483.80 and its 200 day moving average is $3,280.69.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

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.