Fox Run Management L.L.C. Buys New Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 42.9% in the fourth 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 bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $61,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in AutoZone by 25.0% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,605.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3,433.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3,259.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,704.43.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,500. This trade represents a 76.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,501,200. This trade represents a 79.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,721 shares of company stock valued at $17,009,311. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AZO shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,490.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,683.36.

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.