1,200 Shares in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Purchased by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in AutoZone by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in AutoZone by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoZone by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, 1ST Source Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoZone Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AZO opened at $3,611.51 on Wednesday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,728.97 and a 1-year high of $3,704.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,415.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,250.39.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported $28.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $29.11 by ($0.82). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. On average, research analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Dennis W. Leriche sold 1,575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,600.00, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,200. The trade was a 79.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,550.08, for a total transaction of $482,810.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,682.24. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,871 shares of company stock worth $6,720,811 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,750.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,600.00 to $3,700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,651.91.

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.