AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) Stake Lifted by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 808 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $2,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 354,692.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 993,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,293,100,000 after buying an additional 993,139 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in AutoZone by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 382,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,202,596,000 after acquiring an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 564.2% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 152,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,338,000 after purchasing an additional 129,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of AutoZone by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 150,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,684,000 after purchasing an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,218 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,166.42. This trade represents a 56.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,107.15, for a total value of $40,392,950.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,055,777.55. This trade represents a 48.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,880 shares of company stock worth $46,225,660 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Trading Down 1.9 %

AZO opened at $3,106.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3,113.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,027.64. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2,510.00 and a 1 year high of $3,256.37. The stock has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.40% and a negative return on equity of 52.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $46.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 158.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AutoZone from $3,300.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3,634.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoZone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $3,202.71.

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.