Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Buys 10 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,347 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $4,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 60,483 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in AutoZone by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verde Capital Management purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,137,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on AutoZone in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price objective on the stock. Argus boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price target on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,328.28 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,672.31 and a 1-year high of $3,416.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3,234.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,145.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm 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 earned $32.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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.