Townsend & Associates Inc Grows Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Townsend & Associates Inc grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,608 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $15,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after acquiring an additional 7,922 shares during the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 592.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after acquiring an additional 7,879 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AZO shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AutoZone in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,366.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3,321.62 and a 200 day moving average of $3,206.92. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,708.09 and a fifty-two week high of $3,484.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $32.55 EPS. Analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.