SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. Purchases 470 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,164 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. AutoZone comprises about 6.2% of SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $10,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in AutoZone by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,160,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.1%

AZO opened at $3,398.84 on Monday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3,210.72 and a 52-week high of $4,388.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,618.87 and its 200-day moving average is $3,708.77.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $27.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $28.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 5,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,700.00, for a total value of $21,867,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,719,900. This represents a 69.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of AutoZone from $4,811.00 to $4,268.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $4,800.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $4,300.00 target price (up from $4,150.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $4,400.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $4,312.13.

About AutoZone

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.