Western Financial Corp CA Purchases 4 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Western Financial Corp CA raised its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 591 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the quarter. AutoZone accounts for about 1.0% of Western Financial Corp CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoZone by 354,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after purchasing an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 542.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth $85,127,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,379,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.1 %

AZO stock opened at $3,354.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3,263.25 and a 200-day moving average of $3,164.90. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,672.31 and a 12-month high of $3,437.63.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted 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 negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $32.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.