Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 700 Shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,723 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $18,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,194,000. Townsend & Associates Inc increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,196,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Dahring Cusmano LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 600.0% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Capital Corp MA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at about $270,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AZO stock opened at $3,366.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3,321.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,206.92. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,708.09 and a fifty-two week high of $3,484.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $32.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $33.69 by ($1.17). The business had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.18% and a negative return on equity of 53.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $32.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AZO shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,500.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,429.84.

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.