Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Purchases 123 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,608 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the quarter. AutoZone accounts for approximately 1.7% of Osterweis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $37,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,898 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in AutoZone by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,455,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $211,383,000 after acquiring an additional 7,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic boosted 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,574.54 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,916.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3,567.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,333.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.54.

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 the consensus estimate of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,875.00 to $4,025.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,525.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $3,763.00 price objective on AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,724.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,800.01, for a total transaction of $7,600,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 163 shares in the company, valued at $619,401.63. This represents a 92.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,721 shares of company stock valued at $24,609,331 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.