Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $18.59 Million Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,805 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $18,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter worth $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,221.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,658.18 and a 12-month high of $3,416.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3,223.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,139.31.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 153.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZO. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,429.84.

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.