C WorldWide Group Holding A S Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

C WorldWide Group Holding A S reduced its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 71.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185 shares of the company’s stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at $471,629,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 542.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 163,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,776 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the third quarter valued at $85,127,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,366.15 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,708.09 and a 1-year high of $3,484.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3,321.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,207.75.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AZO. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

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.