Verde Capital Management Purchases 325 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Verde Capital Management lifted its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 90.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 686 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the quarter. AutoZone accounts for 0.6% of Verde Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Verde Capital Management’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in AutoZone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,717,000 after buying an additional 6,898 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 186.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after acquiring an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in AutoZone by 1.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 592.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 9,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,012,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital upgraded AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 target price on shares of AutoZone in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,371.06 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a one year low of $2,672.31 and a one year high of $3,416.71. The stock has a market cap of $56.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3,229.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3,144.01.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $32.55 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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.