Coho Partners Ltd. Takes Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Coho Partners Ltd. bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,905,000. AutoZone comprises approximately 3.4% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Coho Partners Ltd. owned 0.14% of AutoZone at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.4% during the third quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 95 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 5.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.2% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 20 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,501.00 to $3,753.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,560.00 to $3,678.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AZO opened at $3,470.54 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,680.96 and a fifty-two week high of $3,484.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3,307.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,192.41. The company has a market cap of $58.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $33.69 by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. AutoZone’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $32.55 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share 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.