Woodstock Corp Trims Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Woodstock Corp lessened its position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5 shares during the quarter. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AZO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 18.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 49,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,204,000 after buying an additional 7,908 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in AutoZone in the 2nd quarter valued at $282,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 12.4% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoZone by 4.6% during the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,966,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 4.9% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 386 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AZO shares. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Roth Capital raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,024.00 to $3,585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $3,205.00 to $2,917.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Price Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $3,193.97 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,655.75 and a 1-year high of $3,416.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3,219.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $3,129.60.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last released 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during 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 was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $32.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoZone, Inc. will post 153.09 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.