Principal Securities Inc. Grows Stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,326,545,000 after buying an additional 7,365 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 213,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,867,000 after buying an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Marshfield Associates boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 169,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,204,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoZone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $471,629,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 104,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,699,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoZone from $3,400.00 to $3,450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,450.00 to $3,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on AutoZone in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $3,700.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on AutoZone from $3,350.00 to $3,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,429.84.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AZO stock opened at $3,366.15 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3,321.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3,206.92. The company has a market cap of $56.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.70. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,708.09 and a 12-month high of $3,484.42.

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

AutoZone Company 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.