AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,099 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $25,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 increased its stake in AutoZone by 186.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 92,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,544,000 after buying an additional 60,483 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in AutoZone by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,455,000 after buying an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,460,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in AutoZone by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Price Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,605.88 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,728.97 and a 52-week high of $3,704.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3,433.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,257.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.71.

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. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Argus lowered shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson raised shares of AutoZone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $3,500.00 to $4,192.00 in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,775.00 to $3,830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,700.00 to $3,850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $3,683.36.

Insider Activity at AutoZone

In related news, SVP Bailey L. Childress sold 160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,550.00, for a total transaction of $568,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,500. The trade was a 76.19 % 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, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,610.00, for a total transaction of $10,288,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,924 shares in the company, valued at $10,555,640. The trade was a 49.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.