TIAA Trust National Association Buys 18 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 267 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in AutoZone by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Up 3.9 %

NYSE AZO opened at $3,825.31 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $64.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,472.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,273.98.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the sale, 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 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 that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,501,200. This represents a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,721 shares of company stock worth $17,009,311. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.