ABC Arbitrage SA Acquires New Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after purchasing an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $471,629,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in AutoZone by 186.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in AutoZone by 542.8% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,032,000 after acquiring an additional 52,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $85,127,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,461.94 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,680.96 and a 1 year high of $3,484.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,315.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3,197.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.