Qsemble Capital Management LP Invests $249,000 in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 79 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AutoZone by 50.0% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 15 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoZone during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in AutoZone during the second quarter valued at $50,000. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AutoZone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,200.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3,202.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,075.20, for a total value of $922,560.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,613,046.40. This represents a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.69, for a total transaction of $4,910,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,166.42. This represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,880 shares of company stock valued at $46,225,660 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE AZO opened at $3,188.94 on Thursday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2,510.00 and a 12-month high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3,115.05 and a 200 day moving average of $3,032.95.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $53.31 by ($5.20). AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $46.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 EPS for the current fiscal 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.