Kelman Lazarov Inc. Takes $233,000 Position in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO)

Kelman Lazarov Inc. bought a new stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 61 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoZone by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoZone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 14 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoZone Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE AZO traded up $71.35 on Thursday, hitting $3,842.54. 45,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 132,934. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $3,708.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $3,587.96. The company has a market capitalization of $64.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.39. AutoZone, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,898.57 and a 52-week high of $3,916.81.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The company reported $35.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.07 by ($1.71). The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.07%. AutoZone’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $36.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $4,000.00 target price (up from $3,750.00) on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $4,200.00 target price on AutoZone and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AutoZone from $3,830.00 to $4,350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $4,087.00.

Insider Transactions at AutoZone

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,597.13, for a total transaction of $2,697,847.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 406 shares in the company, valued at $1,460,434.78. The trade was a 64.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman William C. Rhodes III sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,708.93, for a total value of $101,995,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,696,515.78. The trade was a 76.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,862 shares of company stock valued at $114,431,089. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.