Roundview Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AutoZone, Inc. $AZO

Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 971 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC’s holdings in AutoZone were worth $3,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.2% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 2.9% during the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 3.5% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 4.8% during the first quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoZone by 30.0% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. 92.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoZone Stock Performance

AutoZone stock opened at $4,173.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.40. AutoZone, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2,980.10 and a fifty-two week high of $4,388.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4,133.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3,848.42.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 23rd. The company reported $48.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $50.52 by ($1.81). The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.26 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 13.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $51.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 152.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AZO. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $4,850.00 price objective on shares of AutoZone in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,300.00 to $4,900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,000.00 to $4,700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on AutoZone from $4,100.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut AutoZone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoZone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,538.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Richard Craig Smith sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,875.90, for a total transaction of $11,627,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,337,007.50. This trade represents a 50.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP John Scott Murphy sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4,175.70, for a total value of $11,942,502.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,194,570.80. The trade was a 69.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoZone 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.