AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 87.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118 shares of the company’s stock after selling 826 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,293,100,000 after acquiring an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AutoZone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,326,545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,365 shares in the last quarter. Marshfield Associates boosted its position in AutoZone by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,204,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,699,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,354.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,672.31 and a 12 month high of $3,437.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3,258.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,162.04.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Company 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.