Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Grows Stock Position in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,476 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $21,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth $75,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in AutoZone by 342.8% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoZone by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,315.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,643.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,743.30. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,210.72 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $27.59 by $0.04. AutoZone had a net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 72.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $28.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,550.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered AutoZone from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3,900.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on AutoZone from $4,600.00 to $4,400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on AutoZone from $4,076.00 to $4,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4,312.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total transaction of $21,867,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,719,900. The trade was a 69.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,341.99, for a total value of $324,173.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,910,852.36. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,447 shares of company stock valued at $34,179,923 over the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Profile

AutoZone, Inc (NYSE: AZO) is a retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories. Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, the company supplies a wide range of aftermarket components, maintenance items and accessories for passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles. Its product assortment includes engine parts, electrical components, batteries, brakes, filters, fluids and interior and exterior accessories, supported by inventory management and logistics systems to serve retail customers and professional service providers.

AutoZone serves both do‑it‑yourself (DIY) consumers and commercial customers such as independent repair shops and service centers.