TIAA Trust National Association Increases Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 267 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 482,040.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 419,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,117,000 after acquiring an additional 419,375 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $471,629,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in AutoZone by 6,083.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 90,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,281,000 after purchasing an additional 89,190 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $189,483,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in AutoZone by 542.8% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 62,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,032,000 after purchasing an additional 52,753 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,825.31 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3,472.82 and a 200 day moving average of $3,273.98. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2,728.97 and a 52 week high of $3,860.85. The company has a market cap of $64.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. On average, 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 several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,683.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total value of $482,810.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,682.24. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total value of $10,288,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,555,640. This trade represents a 49.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.