205 Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Acquired by Sage Investment Counsel LLC

Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $656,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 25.0% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AutoZone in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AZO. Mizuho boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,442.61.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.2 %

AZO opened at $3,484.56 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3,336.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3,216.77. The company has a market cap of $58.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,500.00.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $32.55 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

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.