Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Decreases Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $7,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 232,194.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $678,350,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 117,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,552,000 after acquiring an additional 60,852 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 243,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,780,000 after acquiring an additional 58,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 214,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,852,000 after acquiring an additional 47,027 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,465.00 to $3,340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on AutoZone from $3,278.00 to $3,275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,038.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,420.00 to $3,250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,112.71.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,078.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2,880.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,915.44. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,375.35 and a twelve month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The company reported $36.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $35.67 by $1.02. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.29 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 54.58% and a net margin of 14.60%. AutoZone’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $34.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Jenna M. Bedsole purchased 36 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2,757.10 per share, for a total transaction of $99,255.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 36 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,255.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.