Vista Investment Partners II LLC Buys Shares of 79 AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 79 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoZone by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,008,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in AutoZone by 36.5% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,620.28 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,365.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3,230.04. The stock has a market cap of $60.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,728.97 and a 12-month high of $3,636.96.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released 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). AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 53.89% and a net margin of 14.18%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total value of $568,000.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AZO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,753.00 to $3,841.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,646.62.

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.