Albion Financial Group UT Purchases New Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO – Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 41 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 137.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,998,000 after purchasing an additional 179,543 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter valued at $424,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased 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 in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 120,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,267,000 after purchasing an additional 115,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoZone by 106.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 117,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,552,000 after purchasing an additional 60,852 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,280.00 to $3,350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on AutoZone from $3,340.00 to $3,500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BNP Paribas raised shares of AutoZone to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AutoZone from $3,038.00 to $3,125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $3,025.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $3,182.33.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on AZO

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone 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 transaction of $922,560.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 300 shares of AutoZone 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 transaction of $922,560.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,613,046.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 1,580 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,785,166.42. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AZO opened at $3,129.78 on Friday. AutoZone, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2,375.35 and a 12 month high of $3,256.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3,131.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $3,009.65. The company has a market cap of $53.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 24th. The company reported $48.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $46.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 157.99 EPS for the current year.

About AutoZone

(Free Report)

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.

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