Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 6,138 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,084 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,138 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.30% of AutoZone worth $163,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% in 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, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AZO. Barclays upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,724.00.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,811.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $63.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,842.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,515.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,294.29.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.