Lafayette Investments Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,263 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the quarter. AutoZone comprises approximately 2.1% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $8,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AZO. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 232,194.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 731,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,891,963,000 after purchasing an additional 731,413 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 107,977.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 699,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,724,500,000 after acquiring an additional 698,613 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 368.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 411,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,242,000 after acquiring an additional 323,536 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter worth about $658,788,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 111.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 335,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176,623 shares during the period. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,735.00, for a total transaction of $5,196,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,935. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 1,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,735.00, for a total transaction of $5,196,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,935. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,997.76, for a total transaction of $8,993,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,756,456.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,890 shares of company stock valued at $55,531,693. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AZO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,346.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet lowered shares of AutoZone from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,363.00 to $3,523.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,086.61.

AutoZone Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AZO traded up $34.91 on Thursday, hitting $2,973.17. 131,789 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,947. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $2,998.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,754.16. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,277.88 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.70% and a negative return on equity of 56.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $24.64 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 151.98 EPS for the current year.

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.