Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 296 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $245,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZO. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,898 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 29.5% during the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,460,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoZone by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Down 1.6 %

AZO stock opened at $3,574.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $59.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54. AutoZone, Inc. has a twelve month low of $2,728.97 and a twelve month high of $3,916.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,567.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,333.97.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion for 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%. Research analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. This represents a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total value of $7,600,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $619,401.63. The trade was a 92.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,700.00 target price on shares of AutoZone 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 company. According to MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,724.00.

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.