Stevens Capital Management LP Invests $1.68 Million in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in AutoZone by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $155,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its position in shares of AutoZone by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 4th quarter valued at $271,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZO has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price target on AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on AutoZone from $2,950.00 to $3,400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $3,086.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at $48,992,208.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other AutoZone news, CEO Philip B. Daniele sold 4,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,161.68, for a total transaction of $13,247,439.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 900 shares in the company, valued at $2,845,512. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 6,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,190.22, for a total value of $21,374,474.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 15,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,992,208.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,990 shares of company stock valued at $50,335,193. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2,945.98. The stock had a trading volume of 115,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,845. The company has a market capitalization of $51.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3,024.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2,769.99.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. AutoZone had a negative return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $24.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.4 EPS for the current 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.