Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,158 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $32,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AZO. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in AutoZone by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. This trade represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,634.00 to $3,763.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,683.36.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of AZO opened at $3,769.72 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,483.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,280.69. 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. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,728.97 and a one year high of $3,838.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. Analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS 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.