Patten Group Inc. Raises Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Patten Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 205.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 223 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoZone by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 61 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in AutoZone by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in AutoZone by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Argus upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,442.61.

AutoZone Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,485.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3,345.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3,221.36. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,728.97 and a fifty-two week high of $3,563.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current 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.